Someday, or N e v e r ?
by PeroPeroCandy
Summary: "I'm just… worried. I feel like something is going to go wrong. Everything we've been encountering up until now almost feels like a stepping stone to something very, very bad…" BREAKXOC ; REWRITTEN as of May 2011
1. Scroll I

**PPC: As of 5/16/11, I have rewritten this whole thing. So if you're an old reader, I recommend you re-read everything from the first to the last word, since it'll probably be confusing otherwise. Thank you!**

* * *

PROLOGUE

_"This… is the place?" I blinked in confusion, eyeing the building before me with suspicion. I took a second glance at the letter in my grasp, matching the two addresses to confirm. Indeed; this was my destination. I gave the carriage driver a wave of thanks, gesturing for him to take his leave. He nodded simply, disappearing from sight without question._

_The gates guarding the entrance were almost frightening; the building was dark to the core, and the time of day didn't help any. Despite the obvious eeriness, its opulence stood out more than anything. Exterior decorations, probably made of solid gold, caught my eye more than anything. I walked over to the silver-coated gates, pressing the large doorbell to signal my arrival._

_I held my beige-colored cloak over my body protectively and admired the garden view for a split second, when,_

_"This is the Nightray Dukedom," spoke an unfamiliar voice. "What business do you have with us?"_

_"I'm Alva Windwalk," I replied courteously. "I'm here per a letter's instructions."_

_"I see. You may enter; Ernest Nightray is waiting for you."_

_Before I could reply, the gates creaked open, separating to make way for me. I narrowed my eyes, looking around as I walked over to the front door, which was probably four times taller and twenty times wider than I was._

_This time, the door was pried open and I was greeted with a bearded man, whom I assumed to be a servant. He didn't say a word but merely gestured for me to come inside. I followed after him, admiring the portraits hung beautifully on the walls._

_"This is the room. Now, if you'll excuse me."_

_"Ah, wait-" I extended my arm to raise a question, but he was already gone. What the heck? He sure seemed to be in a hurry. I sighed, pushing the door open and trying to walk forward, but instead bumped into a warm figure and stumbled back._

_"Oh?" spoke the man. "Alva-san, it is a pleasure." He extended a hand to me with a creepy smirk. I blinked._

_"So you're Ernest Nightray…? It's… a pleasure to meet you," I replied, taking his hand as a form of greeting. "Sorry about bumping into you. I guess I'm still a little baffled by this place."_

_"It's not a problem," smiled the man. His light hair extended neatly past his shoulders with his bangs slightly parted in the middle. He wore a large smirk on his features; the most distinctive part of him was probably the birth mark on his right cheek. I examined his features, wondering why he seemed so happy. He gestured me to follow him as he went forward into an unknown direction, which I promptly did. _

_We continued walking for a few more minutes and eventually, the man in front of me stopped, causing me to almost bump into him a second time. I blinked, staring at his back in confusion; he was quite a bit taller than me._

_"Er… Ernest Nightray?" I asked. _

_"Oh, sorry about that. I was just trying to remember what room we had to go to…"_

_I couldn't help but sweatdrop at that. He certainly seemed laid-back._

_"Oh!" he continued before I had a chance to say anything. "Oh yeah. I think we go right over down the hall – just follow me," he laughed innocently. I didn't reply and continued trailing after him, looking around and admiring the portraits hanging on the walls. They were beautiful – I wished I was that talented. I nearly tripped over the carpet amidst my exploration, catching myself just in time._

_Thankfully, Ernest didn't seem to notice._

_"Right here," he spoke, pushing the door open as he held it for me. I walked into the large room that somewhat resembled a library, only to be greeted with an unfamiliar face standing next to a bookshelf._

_"E-Ernest…?" questioned the boy as he turned around upon hearing the door squeak open. His hair was a soft beige color and spiked up at the front; an unusual style, indeed. He looked at me then back at Ernest Nightray._

_"Oh, Elliot, you're here?" questioned Ernest from next to me. "Well, no matter, you can stay. I'm just here to give the new Pandora member a quick tour and explanation."_

_"Oh…" Elliot merely said, turning to face me and putting the book down that he was reading. "Well, I'll leave if I'm bothering you."_

_Ernest gave a tooth-filled grin and simply walked over to Elliot, giving his hair a quick ruffle. Elliot puffed up a bit and blushed, looking away._

_"Stop that, Ernest! I'm not a kid anymore…!" he spat in embarrassment. I couldn't help but laugh._

_"So you're Elliot Nightray?" I asked, extending a hand. "You're pretty amusing; nice to meet you."_

_"A-Amusing?_!_" he spat, ignoring Ernest. "But since you're a new member, I guess I'll go easy. Ernest… what house is she from?"_

_ "That's the spirit, Elliot!" the taller man chanted. "Also, she is not part of the four main houses, but we are making arrangements for her to stay in one of them."_

_I waited for the conversation to subside or for my turn to speak to come. _

_"Why would she be allowed to become a member of Pandora if she isn't even part of the four main houses…?" Elliot raised an eyebrow as he darted a disapproving look at me, making me somewhat angry. I popped a vein._

_"Hey, you," I said in a frustrated tone. "Don't start with the insults just because I'm new!"_

_"Insults, huh? I'm just stating a fact! All of the Pandora members right now are part of the four main houses!" he countered. _

_Sparks of infuriation shot from our eyes as we neared each other, glaring the other down. Ernest brought his hands in front of him to ease the tension and stifled a laugh._

_"Now, come on, you two. We should welcome the new member, not scare her away. Besides, Pandora has members outside the four households all across the country," he sighed and put a hand on Elliot's shoulder, who flinched from the contact. "And Elliot… you're aware of the chain known as Lucifer, right?"_

_Elliot froze. _

_"…yes," he replied quietly. _

_"Well, you're looking at that chain's contractor."_

_"W-What?_!_"_

_"That's one of the reasons why we decided to accept her as a Pandora member, my boy. Lucifer could be beneficial to the organization. We never know when the Baskervilles will strike, so we need to be in our best shape," Ernest explained matter-of-factly. _

_"I didn't know this pipsqueak was Lucifer's contractor… but isn't it disobedient? Can she even control it? And wouldn't this all make her an illegal contractor, since she made a contract without using the method invented by Pandora…?"_

_My upper lip twitched. He sure had a lot to say when it came to degrading someone._

_"I happen to be taller than you," I spat. "And older. Which would make me wiser."_

_"Age doesn't equal knowledge! I definitely know way more than you when it comes to Pandora-"_

_"Oh, come on," Ernest sighed, placing a hand to his forehead in annoyance. "Elliot, don't be such a sourpuss. Just give her a welcome. Even though she is an illegal contractor, we decided to let this slide. She really could be beneficial."_

_"…fine…!" he grunted, crossing his arms with a blush. "Uh, I'm Elliot Nightray. I guess we're… partners from now?" spoke the boy, almost catching me off guard. I didn't expect his personality to shift so easily. He extended a hand for me to shake, which I courteously accepted. His facial expression still showed signs of annoyance and I responded to that by gripping his hand a little more tight than usual, causing him to wince and withdraw it. I smirked._

_Victory._

_"Oh, you… I'll get you back," he merely said. I really did win this round after all._

_"Now, how about we sit down and speak about your responsibilities as a member of Pandora? I'm sure you're getting curious, too."_

_He gestured me over to the large square table in the center of the room and I kindly accepted the invitation. Elliot decided to trail after us, sitting next to Ernest while I sat across from the two._

_It almost looked like I was being interrogated or something._

_Before Ernest could open his mouth, I heard the door we came in from gently squeak open and looked over to it, noticing a long-haired boy with glasses enter the small library._

_"Oh… am I interrupting something? I was just coming to check up on Elliot…"_

_"L-Leo!" Elliot spoke. "I was wondering where the heck you were."_

_"Sorry, sorry," Leo smirked. "Hello, Ernest-sama. Am I not allowed in?"_

_"No, that's quite all right. I don't see the harm in letting you stay. You are Elliot's Valet, after all," Ernest said with approval, waving him over._

_"Another strange one…" I mumbled as quietly as possible, causing Leo to look over in my direction._

_"Hello, I'm Leo," he smiled gently. Good, he didn't seem to hear what I said. I was surprised at how different he was, though – he seemed to be Elliot's total opposite. _

_"Hello, I'm Alva Windwalk. I'm the new member."_

_"Ah, I see. I hope we get along well."_

_I smiled at him. What a sweet boy. He took a seat next to Elliot and put his book gently in front of him, eyeing me through those thick glasses of his._

_"Now… let's start," Ernest said as he crossed his arms in front of him. "As you probably know, Pandora is an organization of contractors that monitor chain activities and find out information on the Tragedy of Sablier as well as the deeper parts of the Abyss. Our most important duty is probably to make sure the Baskervilles don't do anything to tamper with any disasters…."_

_"Baskervilles…?" I asked._

_"Pfft, you don't even know that? That's stupid," Elliot interrupted._

_If I were a volcano, I'd erupt._

_"Elliot… you're cruel," Leo turned around and laughed. "She just joined, so how do you expect her to know about that? Almost no one outside of Pandora knows about any of this."_

_"Whatever," Elliot crossed his arms once again._

_"Anyways…" Ernest continued, raising a brow at the boy next to him. "The Baskervilles are an enemy group that we believe are aiming to recreate the Tragedy of Sablier. They must be stopped at all costs," he said seriously, making me sink back into my chair._

_"I see."_

_"So that's pretty much your main objective. The Baskervilles are strong so using your chain may oftentimes be necessary. I advise you to be prepared. That's really all I have to say."_

_That… was it? I expected a day-long lecture._

_"I'm not really in charge of accepting new members, but we were interested in your chain and background so Duke Nightray gave me the OK to accept you."_

_"Give him my regards," I said. "But where will I be staying?"_

_"Not here please," Elliot quickly replied. "She'd probably drive me up the wall."_

_"Elliot…" Leo sighed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Admit it, you already consider her your friend."_

_"I don't…!" Elliot raged hard. "…Leo, you mofo!"_

_"Oh, but you do!" Ernest even pitched in, nearing closer to Elliot from his side of the table. Elliot looked back and forth between Leo and Ernest and sucked his teeth in frustration._

_"You guys… are crazy."_

_I really couldn't hold that back._

_"You'll get used to it," Ernest promised. "But in regards to where you're staying… we've already spoken to Cheryl-sama of the Rainsworth household and she has stated she will be able to provide you with the usual necessities as well as a place to stay. The Rainsworths are very kind, so be thankful."_

_I felt really, really lucky._

_"I'll have to thank her as soon as I see her. But let me ask one thing…" I took a deep breath. "…are there any crazy people like Elliot over there?"_

_Leo laughed._

_"What….!" Elliot steamed. "Crazy, you say?_ You're_ crazy!"_

_"Ho-hum," I said as I ignored him, intertwining my fingers and looking at Leo instead. "You know, Leo, you act more like the master and Elliot acts more like the servant."_

_"…!"_

_"Oh goodness, will you all just calm down?" Ernest tapped the table. "But I do feel like you're going to fit right in, Alva-san. The Rainsworths are actually a pretty kind house; I bet you'll love Sharon-sama."_

_I smiled, happy to hear such a thing. I wouldn't be around this crazy guy for much longer._

_"Well, all we need you to do is sign this contract that states you agree to the conditions of becoming a member," spoke Ernest, pulling a sheet of paper from his document file and sliding it over to me. I blinked, glancing over its contents._

_I then realized I didn't have a pen._

_"Use mine," offered Leo, sliding the pen in my direction. I gave him a thumbs-up._

_"Thanks, Leo."_

_Skimming the sheet, I signed it in great haste before sliding it back over to Ernest Nightray, who glanced over it before nodding._

_"Well, you're good to go! I'll go get your carriage ready, so wait here."_

_The light-haired man smiled and got up, exiting the room with his files firmly in his hand. I stayed silent for a short duration, hoping not to start another war. That longing dark side of me wanted to criticize Elliot while Ernest was gone, though._

_"Say, Alva-san…" Leo began. "Do you know which four Dukedoms Pandora is composed of?"_

_This piqued my curiosity. It probably would've been smart to ask Ernest, but I seemed to have forgotten._

_"No…" I admitted. "I don't."_

_"Well, they're composed of the Rainsworth, Nightray, Barma, and Vessalius households. Those are the main four houses that created Pandora. It has members all across the country now. Most of the members have chains. Do you have a chain?"_

_Oh, right. I forgot Leo wasn't in the room when Ernest explained my chain and the situation behind it._

_"She's actually the contractor of a chain named Lucifer, Leo," Elliot said as he leaned his head into the palm of his hand lazily. "Making her an illegal contractor."_

_"Oh… really?" Leo questioned. I was surprised he didn't put on a shocked face or anything. He seemed quite accepting. "That's interesting."_

_"Leave the explaining to me, moron."_

_"What did you call me!"_

_"As I was saying…" I proceeded, ignoring him. "I've already told the Duke about this in my letter, but my seal stopped moving a while ago. I haven't been summoning my chain lately, so that may be the reason. It… doesn't seem to want to listen to me."_

_"Like I said, it's not very obedient. You should read up on it; we have plenty of books here and I'm sure the Rainsworths do, too."_

_I tilted my head in confusion and looked at his piercing blue eyes._

_"Are you offering me some help?"_

_"N-No… well, maybe."_

_"See? We're already on good terms," smiled Elliot's servant, adjusting his glasses while opening his book. "Aren't you glad, Elliot?"_

_Elliot merely sighed and looked away. _

_As if on cue, a familiar figure returned to the room with a smile plastered on his face. We all turned to face the man, who gestured us all over._

_"Alva-san, your carriage is here."_

_"That was quick…" came my reply. I got up and walked after him with Elliot and Leo following closely behind. I didn't know why they were trailing me, but I actually appreciated their company despite the bickering._

_"The hall's this way," spoke Ernest, holding a candle in his hand. It was really dark already, which surprised me. Had I really been here for over two hours now?_

_I heard Elliot talking to Leo behind me but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. We swiftly made our way past the regal hallway and to the front stairway, which was how I entered the area to begin with. I admired its décor once again._

_We headed down the stairs. Elliot and Leo seemed to speed up a bit, as they were now walking in front of me._

_"Oh, racing, are you?" I told Elliot._

_"Maaaaybe…"_

_We turned the trip down the stairs into a racing game. As I dashed for the last step, I tripped – preparing for the worst, I shielded my face as I awaited my downfall. However, to my surprise, someone's firm hand seemed to grip mine, holding me up so I wouldn't fall face-first into the marble flooring._

_"You're an idiot," sighed Elliot. _

_He actually helped me?_

_I saw Leo smirk from behind us. Ernest seemed surprised but quickly formed a smile, moving away to let us have some 'bonding' time. I got up, dusting my clothing and looked him straight in the eyes. I was barely able to muster out a,_

_"Thanks."_

_"It's fine…" Elliot rolled his eyes. "Now, we're already at the front door, so… I guess this is goodbye."_

_I almost forgot I was even leaving. I dropped my angry temperament and mimicked Ernest, ruffling the boy on the head. He went beet red, making me stifle a laugh._

_"I said **bye**! Shoo!" he screamed as his voice cracked, holding his hair. "Don't ruin my haircut!"_

_"All right, all right… see you, Bitter Boy."_

_"Haha, that's really fitting for Elliot!" Leo chimed in. "We'll see you later, Alva-san. It was nice meeting you."_

_I smiled at the kind Leo, arching my head to take another look at Elliot who seemed to be infuriated with his new nickname._

_"I'm glad you all became such good friends," Ernest said sarcastically. "Miss, it really was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy working with us."_

_He waved me off and I did the same. Elliot waved without much of a care; as I looked closer, I could tell he was holding back a smirk._

_That bastard was probably really happy that I'm finally leaving. Leo, on the other hand, was waving enthusiastically. _

_I made my way down past the gates and into the carriage, where the driver bowed to me before opening the door, gesturing for me to head inside. I gave the Nightray group a final glance and smile before being driven off._

_Now… I had hoped my experience at the Rainsworth household wouldn't be as painful._


	2. Scroll II

I stood in front of the Rainsworth mansion.

The trip here from the Nightrays was indeed a long one, but it was worth it. The building, bearing a striking resemblance to the Nightray's, had a small flowerless square-shaped garden in its front with four trees in each of the corners. The building itself, painted a lovely hue of orange and blue, looked welcoming despite the evening hours.

There was a thick forest surrounding the area, which only added to its charm. Going for walks around here would be worth it.

I knocked on the door and in seconds, someone arrived to open it. The black-haired woman eyed me and gave a smile, so I assumed she was told of my arrival beforehand. She smiled, holding the door open for me as I walked inside.

I was already being reminded of the Nightray mansion, which made me feel the slightest bit worried.

"You're the new Pandora member, correct?" asked the woman courteously. "Alva-sama, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yeah, that's me," I replied, walking inside while looking down at my high-heel shoes to make sure they were still strong enough to bear my weight. I'd been walking around a lot lately.

"Cheryl-sama and Shelly-sama went over the details of your arrival but unfortunately they can't be present right now, so you'll have to see Sharon-sama and confirm your arrival," the female spoke in disappointment.

I didn't mind, but I really wished I could have thanked the two for letting me stay here. Guess it will have to wait until next time.

"Oh, and Sharon-sama is in the tearoom. I'll take you there, Alva-sama."

And with that, I once again followed the same pattern of walking after someone who did the honors of leading me to the proper destination. I couldn't wait to get the hang of this mansion so_ I_ could be the one leading_ others_ around.

Just as I did back at the Nightray's, I examined the glamorous mansion, only to find it bared a striking similarity to the one I used to live in, which caught me off guard. I lightly tapped my forehead to get myself back into reality.

"Here we are…"

"_Finally," _I told myself. _"All this building hopping and following people around is annoying me."_

I quickly bowed in thanks and let the woman leave. I pushed the door open by myself this time, making me quite satisfied as I didn't need others to do it for me, and stopped midwalk as I came face-to-face with a young, brown-haired girl sitting at the table.

"Excuse me…" I began. "Sharon Rainsworth?"

"Oh…!" she spoke, setting her cup of tea down. "You must be Alva-san. I'm glad to finally meet you. Please, take a seat."

What a sweetheart. She really didn't look anything like Elliot, so I quickly agreed to her request and sat down, fiddling with my hair.

"You look nervous," she laughed. "Please, don't be. I'm glad to accept you as the newest member of Pandora. Feel free to use this mansion for however long you need."

"T-Thank you… I appreciate it," I hastily said. "If it's not too much, can you please give my regards to Shelly and Cheryl Rainsworth? I'd like them to know how thankful I am, at least."

"Of course, it's not a problem."

"So…" I began, intertwining my fingers while watching Sharon ignore me for her tea. "…is there anything you need to know?"

She took one more sip before looking in my eyes, seemingly lost in thought. For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence; I braced myself for her reply.

"Well, this is more of my curiosity, but why did you decide to become a Pandora member?" said Sharon, bringing a hand to her cheek.

I took a deep breath; I knew someone would ask eventually, and apparently that time was now. Sinking back into the warm chair, I looked at the ceiling, gathering all the important information together to finally let it all out.

"Well…" I began. "Ten years ago, when I was sleeping, I remember having a nightmare where I ended up in a maniacal-like place with dolls, staircases, flowers, and other things too twisted to be able to explain in words. I remember being in chains… and drinking some kind of blood… when I woke up, it turns out I had made a contract with a chain in my sleep. I thought it was just a dream, but… apparently, it was reality."

She stared dumbfounded at me for a moment.

"To make an illegal contract during sleep… that's very surprising," said the princess, looking away to think. "So I'm assuming you want to use Pandora as a way to help you figure out how to remove the seal?"

I rubbed the back of my head, speaking out,

"No… that's not it. I actually don't have any memories of anything before that nightmare, so I'm hoping to use Pandora as a means to help me remember. I lived in a mansion myself for a while but don't remember having any parents… just maids. I'm not sure how it can be done, but… for some reason, I feel like this is what I should do."

"I see…" she spoke almost sadly. "I'm very sorry about your loss."

I was clearly bothered by telling her this whole thing, but at the same time, satisfaction swept over me. Since I was going to live here, the least I could have done was let Sharon in on one little secret. Lying could end up biting me in the rear one day.

"So, Sharon…" I looked at the other female at the table. "Where will I be staying?"

"You're free to use any empty room in the mansion. It should be all right, since you're a member of Pandora now…" she trailed off, gently taking a sip of tea. It felt almost strange to be here – Sharon and I were the only ones present in this glamorous room.

My mouth hung open at what she said.

"Any room? Are you sure? I'd feel like a bother if I went around picking favorites…"

"Don't worry, Alva-san! It's not a problem, I assure you."

Despite what she said, it somewhat worried me. Even though I had been of royal status – keyword, _had _– I never felt like it was beneficial for any neighboring dukedom to be this gracious. "Oh, but-"

Before I could finish, I heard a thump from right underneath my section of the table. Blinking, I pulled up the tablecloth, only to be greeted with an unfamiliar face that freaked me out like hell.

"W-What the hell?_!_" I shrieked, falling off my chair. The white-haired man merely laughed, making his way out of the confinement and gleefully sitting on top of the table. I looked at him from top to bottom – strange white attire that gave off the feeling of a valet, white boots, a doll on his shoulder, and an absolutely full-of-yourself smirk.

I was afraid of where this was going. He seemed absolutely idiotic.

"My, how very amusing. Is this the one, ojou-sama?" he inquired, bringing a sleeve to his mouth and looking at me.

"_Ugh, he's staring at me. He's creepy."_

"Yes, she is the one. Break, please refrain from doing that," she sighed. "I do apologize, Alva-san."

"Break is your name?" I questioned the obvious, raising a brow. "That's… an unusual name at best."

"It's actually Xerxes Break. And you're very rude~" he pouted, looking over at the doll that was sitting on his shoulder. It almost looked like it would talk, but that wasn't possible… was it?

"Oh, please. You're the one that's rude. You're almost as rude as Elliot…" I trailed off.

"Oh, Elliot Nightray? You met him?" questioned Break. Sharon merely turned over to him, giving the man a soft smile.

"She went to the Nightray household to confirm her membership just before coming here, so that must be where the two met."

"Nightrays, huh…" Break mumbled while nibbling on a slice of cake that he pulled out of nowhere. "You didn't run into Vincent, did you?"

"Eh?" I shifted in confusion. "Vincent…?"

"Then you didn't… consider yourself lucky," he merely grinned icily, sending shivers down my spine. I gulped uneasily and tried to dismiss this sudden wave of fright. "But are you sure you want to find out about your past? It may be difficult to find out the truth. Bad things make little girls cry~" he sang, licking the icing off of his fork almost seductively.

Okay, scratch that. He was as bad, if not worse, than Elliot.

"Excuse you," I laughed uneasily. "But I'm nineteen, Break."

"Age is just a number and has nothing to do with whether or not you're actually mature enough to handle such situations," he smiled and waved his finger in front of my face. All this idiot had going for him was a nice-sounding voice.

"That's the same thing Elliot said, just reworded…" I sighed, holding my forehead in annoyance. "Please spare me, Break. I'm too tired for this."

"Alva-san, disregard Break. Just consider him as something that's part of the atmosphere. He doesn't exist right now."

"That's so cruel, ojou-sama~"

"Please be quiet, Break…"

I cried on the inside. I was thankful for Sharon – she was very sweet, and quite an adorable young girl – but Break ruined the scenery for me. His stupid smirk was getting to me.

I then grabbed my forehead and winced in pain; I closed one eye, holding myself back from throwing up. Visions sunk into me… visions I didn't even recall.

Blood, dead people, chains, the Abyss…

"_Not this again…"_

"Ugh… get out…" I coughed. Sharon and Break's eyes widened and they stared at me in confusion.

"Alva-san? Is something the matter?"

I expected this to be Sharon, but instead it was Break who was speaking. I looked up to him and noticed he now had a teapot over his head. Not to mention the plates of cake on each of his shoulders.

Goodness, how does he balance all that?

The lollipop in his mouth must be the source of this so-called 'talent'. Oh yes.

"I'm seeing things… they never go away…" I gritted my teeth together as I spoke, narrowing my eyes in pain while waiting for everything to subside. "It just never stops."

"O~ya? Seeing what?" Break merely asked, bringing his hands together.

"Everything," I said uneasily as the pain began to subside. "Ranging from dead people to the Abyss."

"Oh my… that's not good. Perhaps they're memories from the past you can't seem to remember? With the existence of the Abyss and chains, it doesn't seem impossible."

My eyes widened; how could I have not thought of that earlier? I mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot. This gave me even more of a reason to unearth what I didn't know.

"Break, will you please take her to the room we've prepared?" she gently requested. Break smirked and jumped off the table, setting his teapot down. "Alva-san doesn't seem to be in a good position to choose her own room right now, so we'll show her to one for the night."

When Sharon finished, Break swallowed up the remains of his cake. His lollipop had also mysteriously disappeared.

"If that's your wish, ojou-sama."

I wondered: was he Sharon's valet? The way he spoke certainly gave off that feeling.

"This should be fun. Don't you think so, Emily?"

"…_Emily? Who the hell is Emily?"_

I nearly passed out when my worst fear was confirmed:

"We can tease her, we can tease her!" mumbled the doll on his shoulder.

This was just too ridiculous. I watched the doll with my mouth wide open, hand frozen in midair.

"You… are a freak."

"I'm glad you think so~" he joked.

"Oh, this all reminds me of some romance books I read…" Sharon closed her eyes and fantasized, clasping her hands together. "You can't have hate without love or vice versa; otherwise there would be no meaning for either of those words. As a result, in romance, it's said that love for a person can be born from hate."

"_So Sharon's a romantic…" _I told myself. _"She… looks like the type."_

"Seems she's drowning in her fantasies again. I apologize in ojou-sama's place, Alva-san," Break says. "As you can see, her romantic side has finally come out. This happens from time to time~"

He covered his mouth with one if his sleeves, laughing sneakily.

"From time to time? More like too often!" squeaked Emily.

"Break…" Sharon began, smiling at him as he smiled back. I expected the two to share words of sentiment or to give each other a big bear hug but instead, Sharon pulled out a fan-like weapon in under a second and whacked him over the head.

He fell down onto the floor, practically bleeding from the head.

Suddenly, I missed the Nightrays.

I ran over to Break as an impulse reaction, feeling if he was all right.

"H-Hey…" I choked. "You okay?"

"…just dandy~" he lied and pretended to be perfectly fine, getting up and dusting off his pants. I smirked. I was worried for a second, but he did deserve that after talking so rudely earlier.

"All right, Alva-san," Sharon said as if nothing ever happened. "Break, please escort her to her room and stay with her for a little while to make sure she settles in properly. I'm going to sleep since I'm quite drained at the moment. Oh, and by the way… I could tell from the way you first looked at me that you were curious about my age. I'm actually well over twenty; my body just stopped aging due to my contract."

My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

"_She's older than me?_!_ But she's so short…"_

"As you wish, ojou-sama," Break waved her off. "Have a good night!"

"Sleep well, sleep well!" chirped Emily.

"Uh… good night?" I added, feeling somewhat out of place next to Break and his freak of a doll. She smiled and bowed – which I assumed was her way of saying thank you – and exited the room, leaving the two of us alone.

"Well, please follow me, Alva-san~ I'll take you to your room," Break practically marched out of the meeting room we were in while flapping his sleeves around, which gave him endless entertainment. He picked up a candelabrum and put it on his head, leading the way as it lit up the dark hallway.

I stared at the back of his head.

"Um, you're not going to stalk me, are you, Break….-san?" I coughed to get that last part out, wanting to see how he'd react.

"Oho, no need for formalities. Since we'll probably be seeing each other often from now on, you can just call me Break, Alva-san," he said, bending his head to the left and right while still maintaining the balance of the candelabrum.

"I'll only agree if you stop calling me Alva-san, then," I retorted, amused at my own reply. I wanted to win this damn debate just like I'd won against Elliot.

"No can do," Break said, finally arriving at a door. "Ojou-sama will scold me if I don't show you respect. Oh, as I'm sure you've noticed, we're here~"

"_What strong-hearted loyalty," _I thought to myself as Break pulled the door open. I looked at the side of his face as he pried the door open, getting lost in thought in regards to his hair. Why did he constantly keep his left eye covered?

The room was, like the rest of the mansion, gorgeous. A circle-shaped table sat neatly in the middle of the large area, two chairs on both sides eagerly waiting for someone to sit on them.

"_She must have used this for tea parties,_" I admitted to myself. Ever since I saw Sharon, I couldn't get the thought of tea parties out of my head.

On the right side of the room was a king-sized bed… no, more like double king-sized bed. It was probably large enough for about six people, if not more. In the middle of the bed, I noticed, was an orange satin dress along with a bag of something that I assumed to be clothing.

This room seemed like too much for me; I suddenly felt guilty for accepting Sharon's offer. Albeit it did resemble my own room back in the old palace I lived in, it was still too much of a good thing. My bed had an opened window standing to its right with the wind gently blowing around the lovely violet-colored curtains.

"This is an amazing room…" I drooled, eyes glistening. Break blinked at me.

"No need to thank me. I didn't do anything to help, you know."

He put on a happy face and finally placed down the candelabrum from his head. He took a seat in one of the chairs sitting next to the circle-shaped desk, leaning his head against his palm and watching me. I did not look back but instead examined all the clothing found inside the plastic bag. There were so many outfits – I picked out my favorite color and turned to Break.

"Break, where can I change?"

"Just do it here," he retorted.

My face turned red.

I picked up the nearest pillow and smacked him straight in the face. He froze for a second before pulling it away, twitching like a madman. I couldn't help but laugh at how messy his hair got from that impact.

"I'm joking, I'm joking~" he laughed, rubbing his cheek. "There should be a changing room on the left side of the closet over there."

I turned around – he was right.

I gave him a small hmph and went in, dragging my favorite outfit with me and changing within a few minutes. I admired myself in the mirror – I now wore a light green dress that wasn't too fancy or too depressing. It had tufts of fur lined along the sleeve and neck line, which I felt was the perfect touch.

Break smirked at me as I came out.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked him, raising a brow. "But anyways, can you tell me where to put my dirty clothes?"

He crossed his legs, not making direct eye contact.

"Mm, could you put that in the wash basket over there? I'd rather not get near it…"

"Break's afraid of female cooties!" Emily suddenly called.

Break picked her up from his shoulder and nearly strangled her, smiling as if he were totally innocent.

"Emily, please watch what you say~"

I sweatdropped.

"Eheheh… all right, whatever you want," I said, happily obeying. "I'll take a shower first thing in the morning."

Suddenly, we heard noise outside the door. Break quietly got up to open it, hearing mumbles from the outside.

"Huh? Why did it suddenly get so quiet?"

"Hey, are you sure you should be listening in? Why don't we just knock?"

"Shut up, seaweed head," said an irritated female voice. "Learn how to have fun."

"Oh my, I know of only one group of people who this could be," Break said, opening the door and allowing a blond-haired boy as well as a brown-haired girl to fall forward. Behind them stood a taller man dressed in black, his mouth wide as he stared at his fallen comrades.

"I-I told you this wasn't a good idea, Oz!"

I blinked.

This Oz was an adorable-looking boy who looked to be around fifteen years of age: his clothing consisted of plaid pants combined with a white shirt and a black vest over it. The female next to him, who was slowly getting back to her feet, whore a dress mixed with red and white with a skirt under it.

"B-Break! What are you doing?" the blond boy asked, looking a bit nervous since he was caught. I laughed.

"I should be asking you that, Oz-kun. It would've been better just to knock, you know."

"We came to see Sharon-chan and tell her about what happened when we left to search for the guy responsible for those chain attacks in Reveille. After we told her, she told us to report it to you and mentioned there was someone new staying here. I just got curious, that's all!"

He put his hands on his hips, closing his eyes and giving off a proud smile as if he had just won a game. Then he seemed to realize something, allowing his eyes to meet mine.

"I'm Oz Vessalius," he introduced.

"_Vessalius?_ _That's one of the groups Leo told me about…"_

I threw the thoughts aside and proceeded with the matter at hand, giving the blond boy the best smile I could muster.

"Hey there, Oz. You're a really cute boy," I said, smiling.

"H-Hey, what did you say about my manservant?_!_" Alice spat. I sunk back a bit. Her words were strong.

Oz blushed like crazy in response.

"Oho, I didn't know you fancied little boys, Alva-san!" Break giggled. "How adorable."

"I don't mean it in that way, Break…!" I inched close to his face, giving him a death glare. He laughed at me, mimicking my gesture and inching his own face to mine, allowing our foreheads to touch. I pulled away, embarrassed.

"Th-This is Gilbert or G-Gil, and Alice. B-Break, does she-" Oz mumbled.

"No need to worry, Oz-kun. She already knows about chains, the Abyss, and illegal contractors," Break cut off Oz's sentence. "It's safe to tell her the information, so don't worry that you blurted out important info without thinking that obviously should've been kept to yourself~"

Silence.

"Oz? Oz! What's wrong!" Gil shook Oz with all his power, showing obvious signs of worry. Oz practically had drool coming from his mouth.

"She called me cute…" he mumbled under his breath.

Gil and I sweatdropped.

"Hey, manservant!" Alice threw a punch in his face, knocking him back against the wall, blushing out of jealousy. "Wake up!"

Gil panicked, rushing to Oz while Alice crossed her arms in fury.

My eyes went wide. Were those two really friends…?

"My. Seems like you've still got no manners, Alice-kun," Break said, watching Oz cringe in pain.

"Be quiet, clown! I don't need to hear that from you! ….by the way, where's the meat?"

"Ojou-sama had prepared some food for you in the dining hall. Why don't we all go there and have a chat? I'm sure Alva-san is as curious about you as you are about her."

I thought about this for a while but promptly agreed.


	3. Scroll III

It had been about thirty minutes since I got to the table. In that time, I found out everything about Oz's most recent adventure, this time involving a boy named Phillip. This whole thing involving death definitely made me sick, but that was the world we lived in.

I heaved a sigh as the conversation temporarily subsided, rubbing the back of my head. All this talking was giving me a headache.

"I wonder when the illegal contractor seal will move next…" I heard a familiar blonde say. This made me nearly spit out whatever I was eating.

"Wait, what?_!_ You're an illegal contractor?"

"Huh, you didn't know?" he questioned. "I was sure Break or Sharon-chan told you already." He then looked away, as if allowing sadness to wash over his expression for a split second. I suddenly wished I never asked.

"No… I didn't know," I spoke, breaking the silence.

"I am. I made a contract with Alice, also known as B-Rabbit."

Gil shifted around uncomfortably.

"S-She's B-Rabbit?" I chirped, pointing to the female pigging down yet still watching us from the corner of her eye. You sure as hell learned something new every day – now I definitely believed that saying.

"Now that's a surprise. I was sure you knew about Oz already," Break pitched in.

"Oblivious, oblivious!" Emily added. I popped a vein and held back my desire to smack them both upside the head.

"Shut up!" I yelled, receiving nothing but a taunting laugh in return because my voice cracked. "I'm also an illegal contractor," I admitted, leaning my chin onto the table. "So… you're not alone, Oz."

He looked at me with surprise, which was the reaction I expected.

By now, it was already evening. Alice finished eating as soon as our conversation subsided. I was sitting next to her and, unfortunately, couldn't eat very well because bits and pieces of her food kept flying into my face.

"My, this sudden silence is rather awkward," retorted Break, jabbing his slice of cake with a fork. He had eaten nothing for dinner besides sweets and it made me wonder how he was still in shape.

"I'm sure Oz-sama and the rest are just very tired from what happened earlier," said Sharon, enjoying her tea.

It surprised me to see Sharon here when we first entered the room, as she claimed to have gone to bed after our previous meeting. She remarked that she couldn't quite fall asleep without seeing how all of us would 'bond'.

"That's totally it!" Oz leaned on the table in exhaustion. "Alice, Gil, I think I'll go to bed now."

Gil, sitting very close next to his master, looked over at him. "If you're going, I'm coming with you." The black-haired man turned to face Alice, who didn't seem to be paying attention to anything. "Stupid rabbit, feel free to camp out in here."

She instantly jumped out of her chair and punched Gilbert in the face. "What was that, seaweed head?_!_ First you steal my property and then you tell me I can't go in with him? Unlike you, I'd be able to help Oz properly if something happened! You're a useless idiot who does nothing but smoke!"

"What did you say, stupid rabbit?_!_"

By now, the fighting had begun. I smacked my forehead.

"Gil! Alice!" Oz said in a worried tone. He tried to pull them apart but they got so into the argument that the two did not even hear the blond boy's voice. "Guys, enough already!"

"...this is awkward," I mumbled, baffled at the situation. These guys were insane, but I could tell that despite that, they all cared about one another.

"Goodness. I think I'd rather go back to the silence," Break said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"You two, I think screaming and fighting is doing nothing but making Oz more stressed out. Why don't you guys take that into account and just go to bed quietly?" I said in frustration.

Everyone stared at me. Even Gil and Alice, who were at each other's throats just a moment ago, had gone silent.

"Hmph, whatever. I'm tired so I'll just go," Alice mumbled while blushing slightly, crossing her arms. I knew she didn't like to be proven wrong, but I was sure she appreciated the advice regardless.

"I'm sorry, Oz, for always putting you through all this trouble. I'll go to bed." Unlike Alice, Gilbert was able to admit when he was wrong. Alice had already left for her bedroom and Gilbert was waiting until Oz was about to leave, planning to tag along behind him as always.

"Thank you, Alva-chan. It usually takes more than that to silence those two when they're arguing," Oz smiled wholeheartedly, rubbing the back of his head. He was adorable – like a puppy, if you will. "Okay, Gil, I'm coming. Good night, Sharon-chan, Alva-san, and Break." With that, the boy ran off with his servant chasing after him.

"Thank goodness the annoyance is over. Right, Emily~?" Break asked his doll.

"Right! They were way too loud for our tastes!"

Guess there was no problem with Break sometimes being alone, since he always had his doll to talk with.

"Alva-san, you're quite good with words and you go about things in a very calm way. I am quite impressed." I did not see that coming from Sharon. "I'm sorry if you feel like we're intruding, but do you happen to know anything about the Tragedy of Sablier? I never had the chance to ask you before and Pandora is looking as hard as it can to find out more information."

What was her reason for asking _me _of all people?

"I don't know much, really. All I know is what everyone else does: for reasons unknown, a whole city was thrown into the depths of the Abyss. Glen Baskerville was the villain and Jack Vessalius was the hero."

"I see…"

Just then, a man with long blond hair entered the room. He had two different colored eyes: one wine-red and one golden. Next to him was a short-haired girl that looked like an emotionless puppet in a blue and white outfit. Her hair looked wet, which I assumed to be from the downpour outside.

I noticed Break cringing, which made me confused.

"Why hello there, everyone! I just came here to tell you that I'll be on my way now. I wish I had the chance to say goodbye to my brother, but seems he's already asleep. I suppose it can't be helped," he stated. "Echo, let's go."

"Yes, Vincent-sama," said the small girl, eyes void of emotion.

Sharon nodded with approval, setting her cup down gently before speaking out, "Very well. Break, will you please escort them to their carriage?"

Break gave a slight "hmph" but obviously agreed, as he didn't want to stir up trouble. He got up and gesturedfor Vincent to follow him through the heavily-decorated entryway. Vincent smiled and looked away from Break and instead to me.

"I will enjoy your company, Xerxes Break. And who is this? Do I know you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sharon said. "I haven't introduced you. This is Alva Windwalk."

"Oh, from the Windwalk family? Interesting. It's a pleasure to meet you; I'm Vincent Nightray, Gilbert's younger brother. This is Echo, my servant," he said happily.

"_So this is the Vincent Break asked me about…"_

I could immediately tell that his smile was the biggest fake I'd ever seen.

"How about you escort me along with Xerxes and we'll have a little talk, hm? I'd like to get to know you better."

He was pushing it a little too far now, but I didn't think it was right for me to say no in this situation…

"If it's all right with Sharon, I'll take you up on that offer."

"Feel free to," Sharon stated. "It's good to get to know the neighboring Dukedoms. Please do be careful, Vincent-sama, Alva-san."

LATER:

I walked down the hallway with Break next to me, who was carrying a candelabrum… surprisingly, it wasn't on his head this time. Seemed Break wasn't as "joke-y" when Vincent was involved. It almost looked like Break wanted to punch him in the face but was holding it back because it obviously wasn't courteous nor allowed. Echo followed closely behind Vincent, staring forward and overtaken by silence.

"If you're still wondering about your brother, he's as cold as ever," Break said, knowing Vincent had an obsession with Gilbert.

"That's just how he is," replied Vincent with a smile, looking down at the carpet-covered flooring. "But I know he's got an innocent cute side."

"_This sure is an odd conversation… I feel left out, though that's not a problem,"_ I told myself, trying to look as invisible as possible so I wouldn't get pulled into this nonsense.

"Mmm, Alva-san?" Just when I had hoped to fade into the background, Vincent called me. Great. That voice brought chills down my spine for some reason. "I don't know why, but I feel like I've heard of you before. Have you ever made a contract with a chain?"

We were almost at the main entrance by now. I stayed silent for a bit, making my way down the stairs with the rest of the group before replying,

"…I have never made a contract of any sort," I white-lied.

Vincent smiled. "Very well. How about you come over to my place in the near future and we'll discuss some other things? Just a regular conversation this time. It would be very rude for me to leave without telling you a little about myself and finding out a little about you. As someone who's Gil's new friend, I think it'll be fun to meet you!" This seemed like such a crude lie. "I'll send a letter with information tomorrow. I hope you consider."

Break stopped in his tracks, making me bump into him on accident and causing everyone else to stop as well.

"Vincent-sama, I think you're pushing your luck. And before we leave... I'd like to deduce something. I believe someone from Pandora's headquarters may have helped with the escape of an illegal contractor, being afraid that he'd leak certain valuable information. The traitor was afraid that others would suspect it to be caused by internal people, so they merely either killed him without anyone noticing or killed him due to certain 'circumstances.' That's just what I think~"

Everyone had started walking again after Break finished his sentence. Couldn't converse forever, after all, as it was getting very late.

"My, my. To think traitors exist in Pandora… that's quite a frightening thought," Vincent replied, smirking unethically.

"You needn't worry. If there really are people like that, then I'll… definitely back them into a wall." Break smirked devilishly, his brutish side finally surfacing. This frightened me slightly but I tried not to think too much into it.

"Thank you for the escort, Xerxes Break. Alva-san… I hope you think about my request." I stared at him. "Please give my regards to my brother."

As if on cue, we all made our way outside; the same continuous downpour that was coating the city for hours now was all that greeted us. Vincent and Echo gave one final wave, making their way into the carriage and getting carried off.

"Goodness, that man is such a nuisance." Break tightened his fist angrily against the now-extinguished candelabrum, nearly causing it to shatter. He then turned to face me. "Alva-san, I believe it is in your best interest to decline. Absolutely no good will come from seeing that man."

"He's suspicious!" Emily piped in. I definitely agreed with that.

"Thank you for defending me, Break," I smiled. I was thankful to him in a way, as he was usually the type to remain silent or even _join in_ on pushing individuals into dangerous situations.

The light-haired man laughed. "Please don't be conceited. I didn't do it for you; I did it for myself," he said, staring off into the starry night sky.

"_Yeah… right."_ I told myself.

I smiled at him, showing my gratitude for defending me even though he claimed to only have done it for his own gain. I couldn't see exactly, but he may have even smiled back. We watched the sky in silence for a few minutes more – I was about to suggest we leave as the rain was only increasing in severity, but something stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Kyaa!" came a very… girlish scream. Breaking out of my silent phase, I turned around to see Sharon run towards me with her arms wide open, as if expecting a hug. She held a purple umbrella in her hand with a heart pattern in the middle. Almost made me feel a little gloomy for being under the plain black umbrella I'd borrowed from the hanger when exiting the mansion.

"That was amazing!" she squealed as if she had just read a romance scene out of a book.

"Huh? Sharon, what's wrong? Are you sick?" I raised a brow, extending my hand to her forehead.

"Don't worry, Alva-san, I'm not sick in the least. I was worried because you two were taking long to return, so I came over to see where you were. Seeing you smile at each other in such a romantic way made my heart ache from happiness! I understand if you're feeling scared, but this bitter feeling is a necessary part of romance…"

She clasped her hands together, finally entering her own little world. She looked over at me, trying her hardest to look serious.

"However, I'm deeply surprised," she said as I blinked. "I never thought anyone would ever like Break in such a way in his entire life."

"Um..." I held back my desire to laugh. "I've... only just met him..."

Break twitched uncomfortably and smiled a crooked smile. "…ojou-sama, that's not very nice…"

I sweatdropped. So this was what her take on Break's romance life was? The white-haired man came closer to the princess and held a sleeve up to his mouth.

"I think you misunderstood… I am not the type to-" Before he could finish, Sharon knocked him out of the way and onto the wet floor, running up and sticking her face close to mine while clasping my hands.

"Don't worry, Alva-san. That's what they all say until they finally meet the one they love! I can definitely help you unearth your feelings!"

I went a little red and sweat poured down my face like no tomorrow. How did Break handle being around such a hyperactive, eccentric-like girl?

"But… I don't like Break," I confirmed, raising a brow. "So please-"

The Rainsworth heir then curled her right hand into a fist and threw it into the air as if she were ready to do something major, ignoring what I had to say. "First thing tomorrow, I will give you romance lessons and ask you a few questions. Please be up early, as this is an extremely important matter."

"Ugh…" I mumbled as quietly as possible, trying not to make eye contact with Sharon. "God spare me…"

Break was still suffering on the floor from his injuries. Despite the pain, he managed to look up at us and sighed out loud. He got himself up and prepared to leave, hoping not to get tangled into the situation.

"Oh, Breaak!"

He froze, being completely dominated by her demanding voice.

"Just where are _you_ going? You're required to be there tomorrow as well." Super happy fun time smile. I tried to open my mouth to protest, but…

"Oh, hey there, everyone!" spoke a new voice. "Surprised to see you outside in this weather. Xerxes, seems Sharon did something to you again? You look defeated."

"Hello there, Oscar-sama," said Sharon and Break in unison. Sharon was still holding onto my hands and was barely able to avert her gaze away from me.

"Oh, who's this?" he asked. I looked at him and noticed a striking similarity between this man and Oz.

"Hello there; I'm Alva Windwalk," I said.

"Ah, so you're the one I heard about..." Oscar's trailed off. "I'm Oscar, Oz's uncle. You've heard of me, right?"

I courteously spoke out: "Of course."

"You're a very pretty girl. I heard what Sharon said earlier, as well." He turned to face Break, smirking deviously. Oh boy, what was he, Sharon the second? "Xerxes, I didn't know you were interested in these things."

Break did his trademark smile, but I could feel the earth underneath us tremble because he was so angry with having to put up with this. "I think you've got it wrong, Oscar-sama," he stated while trying to keep a sane face. "But anyways… you're not going to go in and see _them_?"

"I tried, but they were already asleep. Can't be helped, really," Oscar said, scratching the back of his head while grinning. "Guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Oh, I also have the papers I was supposed to give you, Break." Oscar handed Break a small report, which he read over right away while borrowing his umbrella. He snickered.

"It seems like everything is starting to become clear."

"Well, I think it's about time to head inside. You guys look like you dived into a pool," he laughed, finding his own so-called jokes funny. Everyone else agreed and proceeded to make their way into the mansion.

I immediately ran into the shower, hoping to clean myself up right away. Half of my clothing was completely soaked.

I was inclined to believe that Break ate ten plates of cake, giving his clothing just enough time to dry off. He loved to take his time when sweets were involved. Remembering Sharon's words made me feel like I was going to have a difficult time sleeping tonight.

I had no idea where Oscar went, but I had a feeling I'd see him again very soon. I ran into my bed, humming to myself to let time pass faster – I sure as hell didn't feel sleepy after all the things that happened today.

Now, it was well past 12AM.

I half-closed my eyes, heaving a large yawn; guess I was finally getting sleepy. I then sensed something at my door peeking inside it despite his conscious telling him not to – I could read him this well by now. Pretending to ignore it, I turned away so my back faced the door.

This whole romance thing made my mind wander. If my parents were here, what would they say about all of this if I _did_ end up liking break? He was a servant, after all… well, probably more of a "royal valet" than a simple servant, really.

"_I bet Sharon would say my denial is a part of romance…"_

I kept quiet about hearing Break spy on me. He was doing a poor job at masking his presence today… or so I thought. He was at the door, so I felt like speaking up and telling him to just come in already. Suddenly, I felt my bed shake a little and looked under it. Red eyes met with blue.

I nearly screamed.

"Break, why did you do that? …weren't you at the door? And how many hiding spots do you _have_?"

"That's private information~"

"Shouldn't you be asleep and not wandering around?"

"I'm a grown man: I don't have a curfew."

Even though that was true, he had no reason to be here so late at night.


	4. Scroll IV

I continued staring right into Break's very soul, mouth hanging agape at what had just happened. I was so sure he was at the door, but he somehow managed to get his ass under my bed and trick me… that creepy stalker.

"…why in the world are you here? You scared me."

"So am I not welcome~?" Break teased, pretending to make a sad face. He jumped up on the table standing next to my bed and sat on it as if that were a normal thing to do, kicking his legs back and forth. Not only that, but he had the most ridiculous smile on his face.

"Break… you're really stupid," I said, plopping back down onto the soft, feathery-like bed. "But in a way, I like that. It's interesting."

He looked a bit surprised to hear something like that, but that didn't last long. Within moments, Break's face had reverted to that of a boy who had just tasted candy for the first time.

"My my, is Alva-san interested in me~?" he pretend-blushed, putting a sleeve to his mouth while laughing his usual laugh. I turned a little red but crossed my arms in annoyance.

"I am not, Break," I said as calmly as possible, trying to force my upper lip to stop twitching. "I bet you're wishing I was!"

It was just too difficult to rid him of that smile of his. Break seemed to be able to twist situations around so they went in his favor, and that drove me crazy.

After that line, there was a moment of silence. I continued staring off into the ceiling, messing with the buttons on my pajamas and waiting for a certain person to get the heck out so I could sleep. Break pulled out a plate of cake from his coat somehow and swallowed it whole. He then pulled Emily off of his shoulder and began "fixing her up." Honestly, I didn't think she needed fixing to begin with… well, except for that mouth of hers.

Was it even female? I assumed yes, because no way would anyone name a male doll Emily. Well, perhaps maybe Break…

"Hey," I said quietly, arching my head to look at him. "Are you planning on camping in here for the night or something?"

"Hmm~" He said, waving a finger naughtily. "That wasn't what I had planned, but if you want, I can make an exception for tonight."

I couldn't help but steam at that last sentence.

"Geez, Break, tell me why you're here already! You're driving me crazy!" I fumed and looked him in the eye. He was super close to me; the table Break was sitting on was only a foot away from the bed, after all.

"Am I getting on your nerves now? Haha, you're so amusing, Alva-_chan._" He crossed his legs while laughing.

"Alva-chan?_!_" I spat, baffled at this sudden new nickname. I facepalmed and decided to go with my alternate plan – if it wasn't possible to get an answer out of him by asking, then maybe he'd reveal it on his own if I simply kept quiet.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

1:43AM.

"Alva-san," Break spoke up. "Will you accept Vincent Nightray's proposal for a visit once the letter arrives?" Oh look, it worked! So that's what he had been curious about.

Admittedly, I didn't know. My body told me that the only thing Vincent would bring into my life was danger.

"At the moment, I'm leaning towards no. Truthfully, I'm a little afraid of Vincent." By now, things had gotten slightly tense. Break felt a little uneasy, himself.

"That sewer rat… only cares about personal gain."

"Hm? Weren't you the same way, Break? You're the one that told me you do things solely for yourself."

Break smirked while looking down at his feet. Then, he jumped off the table cheerfully and began heading to the door, waving his beloved cane around. Before heading out, he stopped and turned around to face me.

"Well, I'm pretty exhausted, so off to sleep I go! Thank you for the enjoyment, Alva-san. Being in bed with you really tired me out~" he said creepily and flapped his sleeves.

"_B-Break_!" I nearly screamed this time. He went a tad too far with that. He was exceptionally joke-y today, probably because he couldn't get enough jokes in with Vincent having eaten up a lot of his time.

Laughing, the light-haired man left without saying anything more.

Ugh.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I felt a little… lonely being in the room all by myself. I sighed, closing my eyes and letting myself drift off into a hopefully peaceful slumber…

NEXT DAY:

My eyes shot open. I nearly screamed out loud, forgetting that I wasn't in my own house but instead in the Rainsworth mansion. That was one hell of a nightmare. The coughing spazzes only eased up in a few minutes' time.

"These nightmares are really getting annoying," I finally spoke, glad to have my voice back. "Well, guess I'll open the window for some fresh air."

I stretched my arms and opened the window, smiling as the soft wind greeted my room and blew my hair around. The weather was beautiful today.

I looked at the clock: 10:28AM. For some reason, my mind kept telling me I had something "important" to do today. I tried to ignore the feeling, grabbing my hairbrush and beginning my daily feminine activities.

I couldn't help but continue to be bothered by it all, though.

"What was it… that I had to do first thing in the morning?" I finally told myself out loud. I paced around a bit, setting my brush aside to think.

Eventually, it started getting much too annoying, so I changed into my usual clothes and walked down the hallway leading to the breakfast room. It'd be a lie if I said I wasn't startled by what greeted me; in fact, I did not expect to see Sharon, who seemed to be feeling just peachy, scolding Break.

"Break, didn't I tell you yesterday? I want you to eat with me and Alva-san so we can discuss your feelings."

By the end of the sentence, Sharon's voice became even more loud and peppy. She was really looking forward to this, it seemed.

"But ojou-sama…" Poor, poor Break. He was helpless against Sharon and could not escape the situation no matter how hard he tried. I took a deep breath and finally decided to reveal myself.

"Oh, Alva-san! Good morning, I hope you slept well," said the brunette, smiling while gripping Break's coat to keep him from escaping. "I'm sure you know what time it is! Oz-sama and the rest went out early today, seems they were intent on getting back an important hat. So there's no need to worry over revealing your feelings to them."

"Good morning, Sharon…. Break." Break greeted me with his usual goofy wave. "I'm… so excited," I spoke and tried my hardest not to roll my eyes.

"Please come this way; I prepared an empty breakfast room just for this!"

She really was serious about all this. Wow.

Break looked at me while making a defeated face. "Unfortunately, Alva-san, there's not much you can do to avoid this; once she's in that stage, it's hard to get her out. You have to wait until it subsides."

Oh, I could tell. I really could tell.

I followed Sharon, who walked ahead with a calm yet satisfying smile. Break trekked after us. Within minutes, the three of us arrived at the breakfast room and were greeted by some servants and butlers. After they had placed food on the table, Sharon dismissed them and we were left alone in the large, graceful room.

"Alva-san…" Oh god, here come those trademark starry eyes of Sharon's. "I brought a book with me today just for this. It's called the Bible of Romance. It has everything you need to know, so I want you to take it and read it over. I'm sure you'd learn a thing or two!"

"But Sharon… I really don't like Break. He's too annoying."

"Are you sure?" She cocked her head in slight confusion.

"_Oh my god, I think it's working!"_ I told myself. "Yeah, I am. Really, it's true."

She seemed to be lost in thought for a moment but then gave me a benevolent little smile. "Oh, nonsense!"

…ugh.

I looked at the immaculate book and agreed without hesitation; I'd rather not intervene with Sharon's plans and deal with the consequences, especially since that glint in her eye seemed to finally be surfacing. That sly Break tried to ignore us and munched on cakes and other sweets. Sharon laughed at this, looking over at me yet again with a somewhat-menacing face.

"Look, Alva-san. Isn't it adorable how shy Break is acting?" Break froze and sweatdropped, a piece of cake dangling from his mouth.

"Ojou-sama, you really need to control those girly instincts of yours." All saying this did was earn him a smack in the face. Ouch.

"Can I… go to the restroom?" I stated, creating the stupidest lie in existence. I really started feeling awkward, though, and was in desperate need of a break.

"Of course, Alva-san."

She really was easier on me than her servant.

I nodded and ran for the restroom, jumping into washing my face almost immediately. I felt strange all of a sudden, as if Sharon's romance cooties had gotten all over me; I tried my best to find calm.

"_Maybe I should stay here a little longer… who knows, Sharon may cool off in that time. Then again, I don't feel right letting Break putting up with her all by himself."_

This sure was tough. I sat around for about ten minutes, throwing arguments around in my head until I finally reached a conclusion.

"All right…. I'm nineteen. I should be able to handle something as simple as this at my age and Break shouldn't have to suffer by himself. I guess I'll go."

And with that said, I just ignored my anger and headed back for the appropriate room. As I neared the door, I discarded my hesitation and pushed open the barrier holding me away from hell itself. When I entered, I was surprised to see only a certain tea-loving princess in the room.

"Oh my, Alva-san! I was about to go look for you," Sharon said, a slightly worried look on her face. "I'm afraid something came up, so I had to send Break off. I'm so sorry for letting you down."

"_YES! Thank you for leaving, Break. You saved my life… well, ours, I'm sure."_

My frustration immediately switched to satisfaction. A colossal smile made its way on my face. "Don't worry, Sharon! I've got all the time in the world!"

"I'm sorry to ask, but is it possible for you to do some shopping for us? You've never visited the town around here yet, and I think it'd be a good experience."

I thought about that for a moment – she was right. I'd barely went out long enough to get to know the surrounding area.

"That'll be fine with me."

The weather outside was perfect for shopping – clear skies hovered above the beautiful townhouses, with a cool and breezy wind to top it all off.

"Thank you very much, Alva-san. Here's the shopping list!" She handed a small piece of paper to me that felt almost like clothing, which I assumed was made out of cashmere or something. "There isn't much, so you don't have to worry about wandering around all day. I could easily get one of the servants to do it, but I wanted to give you a well-deserved rest and vacation, if you will. Do you need an escort?"

"Ah! No, that's fine. Thank you for giving me this chance, Sharon; the mansion is so big that I completely forgot I'm not outdoors."

"Of course, Alva-san. It's the right thing to do," she said.

I took this as my cue, stumbling out of the room and waving to the female in the process. I was really excited to get out and see the city for the first time – as Sharon said, I was in desperate need of this vacation, even if it were to only last a short while.

I skipped over to my room, prying open the closer door that stood at the far left of the area. The digging then commenced – I had more outfits here than I knew what to do with. Eventually, after quite a bit of thinking, I came to a conclusion. I glanced over to my current outfit and then back at what was inside the closet, blurting out,

"I'll wear this. It's comfortable and fits well, so…" I eyed myself in the mirror, doing one final twirl to make sure everything was all right. "…guess it's time to go."

IN TOWN:

"Eggs, cold cuts, oranges, strawberries, and… wait, why do we need all these different kinds of cakes?"

Oh. I forgot Break lived with the Rainsworths. He could eat enough sweets for a hundred people.

I took my time, knowing full well that Sharon and the others wouldn't be in any sort of crisis had I taken longer than expected. I enjoyed shopping; it really helped me relieve stress. Good thing there wasn't a time limit.

"Oh, that store looks nice…" I mumbled aloud, stopping by to look at a certain small rural-looking shop. Its name was written on a long wooden board which was crookedly hanging above the brown building's door. There were some toys for display outside in boxes; the shopkeeper, however, was not present. Suddenly, a peach went flying and I quickly skid left to avoid the hit – barely – before staring back at its source.

"W-What the cra-" I held my tongue, as some people had been staring. I quickly scrambled away from the scene. I didn't notice until now, but it seemed like something was going on. People were gathered around the same area where objects went flying from. I made my way over there and as I got closer, I was able to overhear the chitchats amongst passersby.

"I can't believe that little girl won…"

"Yeah, me neither."

This only made me more confused. I squeezed through the crowd, which, fortunately, had begun separating. I was glad I got mixed into this mess right when it was over, since this was supposed to be my time to relax.

I kept moving my head around to get a better view of what was in front of me; those previously blocking my path quickly separated, allowing my eyes to meet with a few familiar individuals.

"Oh!" Oscar yelled, noticing me. "Look who's here."

Oz and Gil both turned around so their backs were no longer facing me. Oz happily waved me over. I sweatdropped as I walked over to them, surprised by the amount of banana peels, broken wood, and papers scattered around the ground.

"What… in the world _happened_?" I raised a brow as I neared them. "I think I nearly died on my day off."

"Sorry, Alva-chan," he apologized while demonstrating his happy-go-lucky smile. "It's just that _someone_ was too worked up with getting his hat back."

"O-Oz! This hat is really important, you know!" Gil replied back, his cigarette nearly flying out of his mouth.

"If it's important, then I don't see why he shouldn't try and get it while he has the chance. The more time passes, the less chance he has of getting back," I spoke. Gil nodded, crossing his arms in agreement. "By the way, where's Alice? I'd have thought she would be with you."

"Huh? I didn't notice she was missing…" Oz said curiously, dropping his smile. "Now that you mention it, I think she's been gone a while. That's strange. Even if she went to get some meat, she wouldn't be gone this long."

"Oh, now that you mention it, I haven't seen her for a while," Oscar said. "You'd best go look for her."

"Stupid rabbit…" Gil sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "She never fails to get into trouble."

"Uncle Oscar, I'm going to go look for Alice. Alva-chan, can you help, too? It would be easier if we split up." Oz was much more dexterous when he was searching for something important to him.

"I wish I could help you boys, but I have a very important meeting I need to attend in a moment. Sorry about that." Oscar rubbed the back of his head in disappointment. The least he could do for the boys he considered to be his own sons was help out during an important situation, but even that proved to be difficult. I wondered just how much free time royal families had.

"Don't worry about it, uncle. It's my job to find Alice, after all. If I can't do it without assistance, then I don't deserve to be her contractor."

"Oz, I'm coming with you. Someone needs to tell her a thing or two when we find her…" Gil intervened.

I dropped whatever else I had on my mind at the moment and agreed to come with the two on their search for Alice. Her disappearance really worried me; chances are she was in danger.

"All right. Alva-chan, you go over there and we'll go here," Oz quickly informed. I nodded, running to the right while the Oz and Gil took the left. The town was enormous and we were all afraid this would take hours.

The area Oz pointed me over to was a dark, quiet alleyway. I slowed down, making sure to be extra careful so I didn't bump into people in the dark. I called out the chain's name, but received no response.

No one was here.

After nearly fifteen minutes of no luck, I was beginning to think this was hopeless. My haste had caused me to resort to asking people about a short brown-haired girl dressed in red, something I didn't want to do; the idea of Alice's disappearance circulating through the town was not something I desired, but at this point, there was no other option.

I stepped up the pace and made my way over to a dark corner of a block that I hadn't examined before. An aura trickling with suspicion seemed to linger around the area. As I stepped forward, something seemed to have gotten brighter – with each step I took, it was as if an extra light bulb had been turned on. I froze when the ground shook ever-so-lightly; I stood firmly in place and watched the scene before me unfold.

I didn't know why, but an enormous black hole had formed just a few feet in front of me. For a split second, I could've sworn I saw the grin of a creature whose identity I couldn't identify.

"Something tells me I should jump in there… but…" I froze for a second. "…what can I do?" Of course, being the worrywart I was, I began pacing around to try and get my mind working better. I made one circle. Two. Three. When I began my fourth, my luck ran out. Of course, only someone as stupid as me would trip over the danger zone and fall in.

Quickly, I grabbed the edge. Nothing but darkness awaited me beneath my feet – I swallowed, gripping on as tightly as I could.

However, that didn't last long.

My hand gave in, releasing its grip from exhaustion. I began falling; I was frightened, but for some reason, my eyes refused to close. I looked around on my way down, noticing light come slowly into view the further down my body fell.

"At this rate, I'll-"

And as if on cue, my body met the cold flooring. My temples hurt… badly. The fall was so great, everything that could hurt did. As I unconsciously gripped the flooring, my body sensed a familiar sensation – this was tiled marble. Getting up and taking a look around, I came to a realization that this was _not_ the kind of hell I expected.

Doors of obscene sizes, plants growing on the wall, carpets floating in the air, stairways on the ceiling… none of it was normal, much less close to hell. Everything was defying the laws of gravity.

Thuds and bangs echoed throughout the area. Startled, I whizzed around, avoiding something that flew at me from behind. Standing right before me was a plant-shaped creature with eyes clearly showing fury: it proceeded to hurl its leaves towards me, which I somehow managed to avoid. The leaves cut through the cabinet behind me, slicing it in half completely. I gaped.

"Well, crap… if I'm hit by that, then…"

I tried not to think about the worst possible outcome and picked up the pace as I ran. By now, tons more  
"things" – for lack of better term – were chasing after me and I was sure my heartbeat was beating ten times faster.

"Unwanted human! Unwanted human! An unnecessary human was brought in!" Dolls screamed, circling around me.

"_Damn it…" _I yelled on the inside as I neared a dead end. This place was too much of a puzzle. "_Am I really going to die now..?"_

Images suddenly flashed through my head.

Blood.

Gore.

An endless amount of dead bodies lied across the entire floor, which was soaked in red.

"_What the hell is this?_!_ I don't want to see it!"_

"Let's kill her! Let's kill her!"

I bit my lip and went for the only possible option, ducking underneath the floating dolls and making my way past them and around to the next corner. My fear seemed to be swallowing me whole, making me unable to muster enough energy.

I lost my cool right then and there, causing me to trip over my own foot and fall flat on my face. That careless blundering gave the enemies enough time to corner me. I swallowed.

Suddenly, images of certain scenes flashed through my mind. Break taunting me, Oz waving happily as we greeted each other, Gilbert and I sharing a quiet moment in the balcony, Alice ranting to me about Oz's behavior… it all seemed to make me feel like there was still a shred of hope.

And then, I screamed.

As soon as I cried out from fear, a blast of crimson-colored energy surrounded me and began taking on a form. Nothing dared to attack amidst this transformation; even I was too baffled to move. Within a second, the monstrosity revealed itself as a large shadow-like figure with no defining form; its eyes, however, were coated with a blood-red color. I backed against the wall as its eyes shot open, glaring at the intruders ahead of it with rage.

"T-This is…"

Before I could finish, a large claw burst out of the creature's body, slicing the dolls and plant creatures in half and causing them to disintegrate.

"Lucifer… so he's finally decided to come out…" I choked out. "Lucifer… you need to get me out of here!" I yelled. In comparison to this chain, I felt like an ant. Standing at a height of 11'2" was enough to frighten absolutely anyone.

Lucifer's eyes closed and another hand broke off from its body, smashing down onto the next wave of opponents and crushing them to pieces. The chain then grabbed me angrily.

"_Is he… actually listening…?" _

Using its powers, the chain broke a hole in the wall and rushed through it, trying to find an exit. I held onto the mass of black, surprised its body was beyond that of a ghost to begin with. Just up ahead, I felt the presence of something that shouldn't be messed with.

Lucifer attacked the wall up ahead, annihilating the dead-end. Just like I expected, the wall was now in pieces from Lucifer's overwhelming powers. We arrived at a room full of mirrors. I had to do a double take to realize there were two others in this area with me – as Lucifer prepared to strike, I yelled out,

"Lucifer, wait!"

Lucifer's hand froze, and just in time. I heaved a sigh of relief; if I had ordered the stop even a millisecond later, Break may've been in pieces. The light-haired man stared wide-eyed at me, like I had thirty heads. I raised an eyebrow at him, forgetting the situation for a split second.

"Alva-san," Break stated, a tone of surprise invading his voice. "Is that your chain?"

"I… guess so. This is its first time appearing in a while…" I admitted.

"Unfortunately, it seems we don't have time for a chat right now. If you're wondering about Alice, the two of us were recently separated."

Oh. So that's why Alice wasn't with him.

"I wouldn't want to keep my opponent waiting, either~" Break smiled cunningly. After he said this, I remembered that the two of us weren't the only ones in this room. I glanced over to my right and saw a human-like creature with cat ears and a bell around its neck, fury corroding its entire character.

"Lucifer is here now…?" He gritted his teeth. I blinked. "Cheshire will get rid of both of you! I won't allow you to disrupt this area!" He seethed in panic.

"Things are about to get interesting. Alva-san, as a gentleman, allow me to finish this~" he laughed as if this were a game, causing me to pop a vein.

A gust of black wind gusted up behind Break, who proceeded to take off the bandages around his left eye.

"_His eye… it's... not there…" _I told myself. _"I thought his bangs just covered it or something, what the heck…"_

Break merely walked past me, smirking as Cheshire backed away in fright. "This is a little reward for you from my left eye for making me have a very bad dream."

Suddenly, a dark figure revealed itself as a shadow with a cloak and an Alice in Wonderland-styled hat. Metallic chains revolved around the monster with its most noticeable aspect being the giant red eye in its core. I couldn't help but be reminded of Lucifer when I looked at Break's chain. After all, their shape and color were quite similar.

"Mad Hatter…!" Cheshire said with worry.

"Now…" came Break's evil voice. "It's time for your punishment."

"Mad Hatter…" I repeated, finally learning its name. "Break, your chain resembles mine for some reason…"

"That's because your chain and mine were born to counteract each other. Mad Hatter destroys anything related to the Abyss; Lucifer, however, creates things related to the Abyss and uses that as a weapon."

"How... do you know?" I blinked, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable in Lucifer's grasp. I tried to wriggle out, but its hold on me was too strong.

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head like an idiot. His jokes were driving me crazy – this _wasn't_ the time!

"I've done my homework, unlike a certain lady~"

"B-Break, this isn't the time for jokes!" I desperately wanted to join in on the fight, but respected Break's wish and let him handle the situation himself. He _did_ volunteer, after all.

Break opened up his cane, revealing a sharp blade.

"Now… it's time to have some fun!"


	5. Scroll V

I watched, my mouth bearing a firm o-shaped expression, as I watched Break handle the enemy with utmost ease. I had _no_ idea Break was this good of a fighter – it almost made me regret screaming at him all those times in the past.

The contractor jumped up to attack with his sword while Cheshire countered with his claws. Break's movements were perfectly synchronized with whatever he planned next; Cheshire's, however, were off balance.

After only a minute or so of throwing attacks at the other, Cheshire was knocked down to the ground, quickly getting back up to his knees.

"Hmm. So you still had enough energy to move around that much~?" Break put a sleeve to his mouth, staring off into Cheshire's eye with an evil look.

"Damn it. I don't have time to fight you anymore!" The cat-like chain slammed his paw onto the ground out of anger, the bell around his neck ringing every now and then as he shuffled from place to place. I snapped out of my "appreciation of Break" phase and looked around, taking notice of the altered surroundings.

"Break..." I decided to speak up. "It seems like something's happening around here. Parts of our surroundings look like they're deteriorating." This made me regret not joining in on the fight – it definitely would've been simpler if the two of us took part in the battle together.

"Hmm, yes, I noticed~" he replied, examining our surroundings. "Looks like someone's messing with this place."

Cheshire used whatever energy he had left to muster out a: "It's the blond! I need to get rid of him or else this area will be destroyed!"

"Blond? Are Oz and Gil here, too?"

"Hmm, probably. Oz-kun appears to be the one who's damaging this dimension." Break leaned back against the wall, waving his sword around dangerously. Good thing I didn't stand near him.

"I can't… stand around anymore… I'll kill you! I'll kill you for her! Cheshire is only here because of that girl!"

Suddenly, the cat was overcome with rage. He charged straight at Break and attempted to land a hit on the man; unfortunately, that attempt failed, as Break evaded with a jump.

"_Her?"_

"You're a cat, yet you speak like a stupid sewer rat." This was new – looked like Break's anger was pushed to its limit. This wouldn't last much longer. "I'll tell you one thing. Irresponsible words like 'I'm doing this for someone'…" He pulled out his blade from his cane yet again and charged at quick speed into Cheshire. "…are the ones I hate most!"

Cheshire screamed, the energy of the attack knocking him back against the wall. He was unable to withstand Break's powerful slashes and the power of Mad Hatter combined.

I'd never participated in such fights before and stood in my place, examining the situation with confusion to make sure Cheshire really had been defeated. Suddenly, I felt Lucifer's grip on me diminish; his body started disintegrating before he fully disappeared seconds later, dropping me softly onto the floor.

"Huh... what the hell? Lucifer is gone…" I spoke in bewilderment, looking at my arms to see if the frightening aura had faded.

"It looks like for whatever reason, your chain is unable to stay in this dimension any longer. It may be because it's being destroyed as we speak," Break mentioned, still fixated on the Cheshire cat. I was about to scold him for acting like a know-it-all, but he dropped down to one knee before I could say anything. I panicked, running up to him.

"Break! What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Oh~? Worried about me?" He smiled naughtily. For the first time in a while, I caved in and blushed, deciding not to duke it out with the white-haired contractor.

"S-Shut up, Break. Just answer my freaking question."

"This is just a little side effect of using the Mad Hatter. Please don't worry, Alva-san~" The light-haired man then looked over at the cat. "And as for you… I recommend you don't move around that much, because after all… my Mad Hatter annihilates anything related to the Abyss. I'm sure you already know that he was born to kill other chains."

Cheshire's face was full of panic. However, there was something that was missing from him…

"Oh, and I'll take this as a souvenir," Break laughed while holding out the chain's small, yellow bell. "I'd like to thank you for the entertainment. This bell is the core that fabricates this space, is it not? Alice's memories from one hundred years ago are undoubtedly held inside here…"

"_Alice's memories from a hundred years ago? Is he talking about… Sablier?" _

"My bell…" Cheshire quietly spoke out. "My bell!" Suddenly, his body started undergoing a transformation. His human body faded away and he transformed into an enormous black figure with no definite shape. He screamed out frighteningly and the entire ground shook from the impact of his voice.

Suddenly, something grabbed me and picked me up bridal style.

"Please forgive me, Alva-san," Break smiled. "But ojou-sama will get upset if you're hurt." His body was warm, but… this wasn't the time to be thinking about that! "That bastard cat… is planning on destroying us all here."

The walls around us were getting destroyed and the fabrication of space was collapsing. Suddenly, the floor cracked open, throwing Break and I down to the room underneath. Break's reflexes allowed him to land gently onto the ground without hurting himself or me. It was as if he was some kind of acrobat; he practically danced around in the air and used the pillars that were still standing as footing. Suddenly, we took notice of a couple of familiar faces. A large smile made its way on my face the moment their eyes met mine.

"Alva-chan! And Break!" Oz called out, running up to us as carefully as possible without destroying the already-damaged floor. Not only were they injured, but they all looked like they were stressed to all hell.

"You guys okay?" I questioned, somewhat embarrassed they have to see me being carried in this fashion.

"Yeah, don't worry," Oz smiled while speaking. "What about you guys? Feeling alive?"

"_Thank goodness… he doesn't really think much of it."_

"Barely." I rolled my eyes like a damsel in distress. "But it looks like this is almost over."

"Oh, good day, all~" Break intervened, smiling ridiculously.

Gil popped a vein. "What do you mean, 'good day'?_!_ It's because of you that this happened in the first place!"

"It is?" I asked.

"Yes, yes. I'll listen to your complaints later." Break waved his hand around like a clown from a circus.

"Damn it; get us out of here already! I've had enough of this place!" Alice finally screamed out, scrambling to get up off of the ground.

"Come on, guys, this isn't the time for arguments," Oz sweatdropped amidst his happiness to be reunited. "Is that the Cheshire cat?"

Gil's mouth dropped open and he froze. "C-Cat… a-again?"

"Yes, he changed to his hideous form. You can't stay here for much longer, so hurry and use Eques to escape. Alva-san, I'll be putting you down now… please stay back," Break said in a more serious tone, slowly placing me down on the ground. I was somewhat surprised with his gentleness.

"Eques?"

"Ojou-sama's chain." So Sharon had a chain of her own… admittedly, this surprised me. I did not think Sharon's personality would make her compatible with any chain.

Break pulled his sword out yet again, preparing to strike.

"B-Break, wait a minute! Eques hasn't returned yet!"

However, this did not stop the light-haired man; he charged into the mutated form of Cheshire and stabbed him with his sword, Mad Hatter combining with it to increase the damage output. Cheshire screamed out and the dimension around the group started disintegrating even more.

Just then, the ground cracked open on spur of the moment, separating me from Oz, Gil, and Alice. Alice and Oz were swept to one side of the area, meaning Gil was no longer with them.

"Oz! Dammit!" Gil called out, trying to reach for his master, but to no avail. I sucked my teeth, trying to reach for one of them before the remaining mass of land separated even more, but nothing worked. The situation was becoming too dire.

A large horse appeared behind Oz and Alice forthwith, smashing down its hoof to create a large hole – seemingly the escape route. Oz's eyes widened at the timing.

"You can't, Sharon-chan! Gil, Break, and Alva-chan are still out there!" However, his holler did nothing and Eques pulled Oz and Alice into the rainbow-colored sphere."Sharon-chan, please stop Eques! _Sharon-chan_!"

"Gah, wait!" I called. In a matter of seconds, Oz and Alice disappeared from sight. Gil started panicking, as did I.

"Gil, what do we do?"

"I… I don't know!"

"Do something! Don't you have a chain?_!_"

"Easier said than done!" He combated. "You have one too, don't you? _You_ do something!"

We had more than lost it by now; even Gil was at his limit. My hair was practically spiking upwards.

"We're going to be left behind… we won't be able to escape this place…" I choked.

Break dropped down to his knees again, unable to keep up with the pain. His body took more and more damage the more he used his Mad Hatter and it really scared me. By now, the entire area was nearly wiped out and panic embodied the three of us that were left behind.

"I never wanted to embarrass myself like this, but… Gilbert-kun, use Raven's power to create a way of escape," Break said while laughing uneasily, wiping blood from his mouth. "It's our only way out. I'm afraid something must have happened to ojou-sama, otherwise Eques would have taken us out of here as well."

Gil's eyes widened a bit, surprised at this request.

"Well?" Break continued, dodging fatal blows. "We don't have time!"

Without giving a reply back, Gil closed his eyes and a pitch-black raven appeared before us. Dark-colored feathers circled around the tall man, as well as Break and I, swallowing us up into nothingness. I didn't know what it was, but this chain gave me the chills on a whole new level. Within a second, we crashed into some kind of furniture in a room.

"Ow! My head…" I whined, trying to get off of the desk I landed on. I looked around and noticed Break and Gil were in this room, as well; Break, luckily, landed on a bed. Gil, however, was not so lucky… he appeared to have smashed into the door.

"Gil! Break! Are you two alive?" I poked them.

Break's eyes shot open and he got up quickly, drawing his sword. Then, upon realizing they were now back in their own world, he withdrew his weapon and sighed, rubbing the back of his head in pain.

"Break…" I called worriedly. "You're such a one-man show."

"Heh," he merely said. "I already told you not to worry, Alva-san. I think your attention ought to be focused on that man there."

I turned around and noticed Gil had by no means moved his body. I ran up to him to feel his breathing: it was still present. However, a ton of his energy appeared to have been used up by calling for his chain. Break walked up to him and picked the black-haired man up with some difficulty, placing him down onto a couch.

"He needs rest. What about you, Alva-san. Are you all right?"

I didn't even like being asked this question, as I was definitely the least injured of the group. I nodded carelessly, bringing a cold wet cloth and placing it on Gil's forehead to hopefully negate some of the pain.

"I'm fine, Break. Just a bit exhausted from summoning Lucifer before… even though that was unintentional."

"I was a bit curious about that, Alva-san. Do you mind telling me about it~?" Break asked with a smile, a small trail of blood still visible on his mouth. "That also may have been the reason Vincent Nightray was interested in speaking with you."

"Ehhh…" I didn't want to speak of it because of one problem. I was afraid of admitting that I was an illegal contractor, even though the hand on my seal seemed to have stopped moving eight years ago, when Lucifer ceased making an appearance. "I'm not sure… it's just…"

"Are you saying you don't trust me~?" he joked, pulling out some cookies. "I know I trust you."

That was a little embarrassing… it made me twitch just a little. I concluded that I could no longer fight against that intriguing aura of his, so I caved in and revealed my secret for the first time in my life. It was probably good to be able to admit it. I sighed and let it all pour out, deciding not to stop until I felt I'd said everything there was to say.

"Basically… I created an illegal contract in my sleep. I obviously didn't have much control over my decision, since I was dreaming, of course. Or so I thought. If it were possible, I'd break the contract, but I can't…" I sighed and looked at my feet, resting on the sofa next to Gilbert. "Lucifer seems to be stuck with me."

"I find it a bit ironic…" Break began. "…how both the Mad Hatter and Lucifer coincidentally ran into each other. Or perhaps this wasn't a coincidence..?" his mind trailed off.

I blinked and looked over at Gil, who seemed to be doing better. About ten minutes had passed since we arrived in this mansion and his breathing had gotten much better since then.

Impulsively, my hands gripped my body as if I were stranded in a snowstorm. Either the room's temperature was dropping, or something was going seriously wrong with me. I skidded down from the couch, leaning my head back.

"Ugh…"

"…Alva-san? Is something the matter?" Break dropped his cookies and made his way over to me. I don't know what he did afterwards, but I know I felt his warm hand touch my own cold body.

"I don't know… I've always felt this after using Lucifer's power and never figured out why. It's always been so frightening for me." I cowered, trying my best to keep myself warm.

"It's the price you pay for using a chain that's this powerful," Break stated while slowly making some kind of shuffling noises I couldn't comprehend due to my sudden blurry vision. "You shouldn't use it too much if it hurts your body that badly."

"Ah… whatever, Break," I said, barely catching half of that. I was trying my best to stay conscious, but it wasn't working out too well. Suddenly, I felt something warm being placed on my shoulders. It was white and long enough to cover up almost my whole body.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Alva-san. Like I told you before, ojou-sama will kill me if you get hurt." Break smiled. He held his arms around me from behind, laughing at how shaky my whole body was becoming. "I didn't know you disliked me this much. This will make things get better quicker~"

"No… I'm sure it'll be the opposite," I said as my bottom lip twitched. "This is making it even harder for me!"

"But you're turning red. This'll warm you up due to your frightened reaction, will it not?"

"It _won't_, you moron! Let me go! I don't dislike you, but still…"

"Hmm, if you don't dislike me, then…"

I laughed in annoyance, unable to continue this awkward conversation. "Since you're so set on staying this way, fine…. but… thank you, Break."

That was all I managed to say before my eyes closed and I fell into a deep slumber.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER:

SMASH. Crack. Clank.

I felt myself regaining consciousness, feeling revived again and no longer exhausted. I'd probably have slept longer if there wasn't so much noise all of a sudden. The bed felt very soft… wait, bed? I could've sworn I was on the floor… was this Break's doing?

Looking over to the couch, I noticed Gilbert was still resting, which was a good thing. He needed as much rest as possible. But Break… he was no longer here. I quickly scrambled up, getting the slightest tug at my stomach that was telling me Break went somewhere he probably shouldn't have.

It took me a while to find the exit, but upon encounter, I pushed it open nervously and headed outside. I didn't know why I went outside to begin with; something in my mind seemed to force my body to move on its own. It was dark at this point, stars hovering gently in the sky.

I made a few circles around the front portion of the mansion, wondering where the uncanny man had run off to. Then, I proceeded to head towards the back part of the area: where an endless amount of roses grew.

"This place is such a puzzle… why in the world did I think Break would be here? God, that stupid guy…"

Just as I took a few steps forward, I heard the sound of… scissors. Crossing the boundless range of greenery and roses while following the noise, I spotted a familiar face: Vincent Nightray. He was the only one in the area.

"Vincent… what are you doing here?" Crap. That was a stupid question to ask – what right did I have to intervene like that? After all, I wasn't even sure where Raven had taken us. It could've been to the Nightray's mansion or something.

"Oh, hello there. I'm just having some fun, is that so wrong? Besides, this is Pandora's Headquarters, so I'm allowed to be here. I guess there's no longer a need for me to extend a letter over to you since you've already arrived." He smiled, edging to the side to reveal the mess scattered all over his table. Petals and rose heads were all around the tall blond's feet as well, completely butchered. So this is his idea of fun? "I assume you're looking for Xerxes Break. You seem to be quite fond of him, haha. Unfortunately, your timing is quite bad. I'm not in a very good mood right now…"

"_This guy disgusts me," _I said and tried not to grit my teeth. _"But what did he mean about my timing being bad…?"_

"Hmm, how about this? I'll let you go safely if you confirm the details of what happened when you entered the memories of Alice from one hundred years ago. You might just run into Sharon-san if you comply!" Vincent put on a fake smile, playing with his scissors.

"You… so you're the reason Eques wasn't able to take all of us back safely. What did you do to Sharon?" Boy, was I _angry_.

"Who knows," Vincent laughed, his blond hair swaying with the wind. He continues mauling the flowers with a sadistic smile on his face – I assumed this was how he relieved himself of his anger. Sadly, the beautiful weather was completely diminished because of Vincent's stupid face. "However, I'm the one asking questions right now."

I became somewhat afraid. No one but me knew that I had aichmophobia.

"Oh, there's also something else I'd like to see and know about," Vincent said slyly, getting up off of his seat and slowly nearing me. "You seem to be in possession of something quite important."He then grabbed my hand to hold me still and slightly tore my shirt open, revealing my bra.

"W-What the heck are you _doing_?" I winced, trying to break free from his grasp. He wasn't gripping me tightly, but he sure as heck violated my privacy. "You did _not _just do that…!"

"Talking back in such a way isn't very ladylike, Alva-san. Your behavior is unacceptable," Vincent's smile dropped. Never did I think he'd stoop this low. "Hmm, I think it's time for your punishment now. But before that, I'll ask you again: please explain clearly what you saw in the dimension you were sucked into as well as the meaning of your seal."

"Hell no," I spat out, backing away into a nearby bush. There was no way I'd let this sadist get away with these kind of things.

The moment I finished my sentence, I started feeling sick. Vincent pointed those scissors towards me as if he was aware of my fear. I gulped, wiping a trail of sweat away from my face and averting my gaze from the blond-haired man. This was a _bad_ time to be aichmophobic; I couldn't even argue or fight back, which was probably making it easier for him.

"Huh? I wasn't actually going to stab you, but…" he began, looking down at my frustrated figure. "…I guess this'll do. I found out what I really wanted to know – that you indeed do have an illegal contractor seal."

"Why are you going this far…?" I seethed.

I then heard footsteps not too far off in the distance. Arching my head to my right, I saw a familiar figure appear from the shadows and make its way over to the garden's center; it was Break. As soon as he saw me, his eyes widened with shock from what he had seen.

"My, my. Well, if it isn't Xerxes. How have you been? I've been waiting for you," Vincent smiled, hiding the scissors behind his back and pretending to be innocent amidst such an obvious situation.

"You… god damn sewer rat," he spoke bitterly as he ran up to me, narrowing his eyes.

"Hold on a minute, Xerxes! What makes you think I did all this? I was only trying to help when I found her lying on the ground." He waved his arms. I clutched Break's shirt, trying my best to keep my breathing normal. If this wasn't enough, it seemed my body had gotten into a panic stage all because I saw those scissors so close to my face – I was sure Vincent would have stabbed me or something. "Though I'd get her to a doctor soon if I were you. She looks pretty sickly."

"You go this far just for information… you are despicable, Vincent Nightray," Break commented. Then, his ferocious frown turned into a twisted-looking smile. "Though you're quite lucky. Had you actually stabbed her, I'd have turned you inside out by now."

"If it's bothering you that much, how about we make a trade? You have something I want… if you hand that over, I'll tell you where Sharon-san is and let you go so you can get that girl to the hospital."

"Unfortunately, someone like me wouldn't have anything you'd be interested in," Break lied, trying to keep his cool. I looked at him as my breathing slowly returned to normal, wondering what was going on.

"I wonder about that," Vincent stated, grabbing Break's hand and pulling up his sleeve to reveal a yellow bell. Break flinched. "This bell you took from the Cheshire cat… it has Alice's memories from one hundred years ago if I'm correct. I'd like you to let me have this, Xerxes."

"Break! You can't give that up!" I spoke angrily, which helped force my body back into full consciousness.

"Please don't speak," Break stated seriously, putting a finger to my mouth and then looking over to a delighted Vincent. "You have a deal. Now tell me where ojou-sama is and let us go."

"Good choice, Hatter. At least you've got some manners… unlike a certain young lady." He looked over at me. I mustered the coldest possible glare back at him. "Hmm, you know the bedroom in the center of the headquarters, near the second block on the third floor? You can find her there, so make sure to arrive as soon as you can, because if you don't…." he took a pause. "…your royal lady may not be in such a good condition. Dragging your little girlfriend around will only slow you down as well, so you should leave her somewhere."

Break fixated his angry stare at Vincent.

"It seems I have no choice. As soon as I get Alva-san out of here, you are to show me where ojou-sama is or I will not hesitate to rip your throat out."

"Hey, Hatter! Can't we settle this in a more friendly way?" Vincent jokingly panicked while waving his arms in front of himself. "I understand, however. So I'll see you soon?"

I sucked my teeth.

"_This moron…"_


	6. Scroll VI

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times and trying to remember what had happened. I found myself lying on a soft bed, presumably a… hospital?

Did Break seriously get me to the hospital just because of a phobia? Either that or my phobia was that bad. I tried to sit up, but a surging pain shot throughout my body. Was this really the phobia, or was it… Lucifer?

I tried to stretch my hand and open the nearby window, but it was out of my reach. I sighed, placing a hand to my forehead and taking a few moments to think. So many things had been happening lately that even taking a moment for yourself was proving to be difficult.

It took me a second to notice there was a knock at the door.

"You can come in," I stated, not putting much emotion into my words. The one behind the barrier blocking us off gently turned the knob, entering the room and allowing his golden eyes to lock with my blue ones.

"Hey, are you awake?" A tired-looking Gilbert Nightray asked. He made his way to the table next to my bed, gently putting down a bag onto it. I blinked. "This is for you. Break told me to bring it here since he won't be able to visit you right now."

"Thanks, Gilbert," I said with as much energy as possible, picking up the bag and placing it on my lap. "That doesn't really seem like Break… well, I bet it was just because 'Sharon told him to' or something," I continued, digging through the bag. It had lots of clothing and even a picture of Emily.

Then, I froze.

"Gil, what happened to Sharon?_!_"

"Relax," he reassured with a sweatdrop. "Everything is fine."

I breathed a sigh of relief. That girl was such a handful. I then went back to digging through the contents of the bag, narrowing my eyes as I pulled out the cutesy-looking picture of Break's naughty little doll.

"_I highly doubt Break drew this. And did he go to a female clothing store just to get this for me? That must've been embarrassing. Stupid pervert."_

At that moment, my mind trailed off elsewhere. I nearly dropped what I was holding without realizing it.

"Is something wrong?" Gil asked me, blinking.

"I just realized I never did get the shopping done." I sweatdropped. "Also, I'm a bit surprised to see you leave Oz's side," I snickered, staring at him evilly.

"H-Huh?_!_"

"Haha, sorry. I couldn't hold it in."

"E-Eh…" Gilbert swallowed uneasily with a blush. It was adorable how he tried so hard to keep his nervousness to himself when it was still so utterly obvious. "The doctor says you should be able to go back soon. How do you feel?"

"Uh, about that…" I raised a brow at him. "Why am I here to begin with?"

"You… don't know?" Gil blinked. "Break said you were feeling bad because of the side effects of your chain. He can't tell the doctor you're an illegal contractor, so he had to come up with an excuse."

"Dare I ask what excuse he made up?" I kind of regretted that the moment it came out of my mouth.

"I think he told the doctor you were diabetic-"

Facepalm.

Silence engrossed the room for a few moments. We were both feeling somewhat uncomfortable for our own reasons.

"I'm feeling fine," I finally answered. "So I'm hoping I can leave soon. How long have I been out?"

"I'd say about fifteen hours. It's nearing dusk right now," the black-haired man replied. He then moved to another corner of the room and pulled out a cigarette. This got me got angry; I glared at him, hoping he'd get the message.

After a few seconds, Gilbert seemingly noticed. He shot a confusing look back at me.

"No smoking in a hospital, you git!" I yelled, jumping out of the bed ninja-style and chopping Gil's head with my hand. He backed against the wall, holding his head in pain. He looked over to the right on impulse in order to avoid eye contact, noticing a sign on the door with the words "No Smoking" written on it.

"S-Sorry." The tall black-haired man put out his cigarette, dumping it in the trash. "It's a habit I've been trying to break. But if you have the energy to move around that much, I think we can go back now. You just need to confirm your condition and have the doctor check you out one final time. Sharon and the others want you back as soon as you're feeling okay."

"Oh? Worried about your master?" I teased.

"Eh?_!_ You drive me insane!" he said in frustration. Gilbert made me think of a child who never grew up.

I laughed at his reaction, gently gripping the bedding to hold myself still. I was _so_ glad I met these guys. At that moment, someone walked into the room. Our eyes darted over to the bearded man dressed in white and we immediately silenced ourselves.

"Good evening, Alva-san. I'm here to check on you since I heard news that you were awake," he said monotonously, turning his head to look at Gil. "Please wait outside while I do the checkups; the results will be given to you shortly after. We cannot have visitors during the procedures."

"All right," spoke Gil, walking out instantly. I bet he was happy to be tossed out, since that meant he could smoke outside for a little while.

The moment he was out, the doctor gestured me to lean forward and began his usual process. Amidst all this, I found my emotions being eaten away by every second – every time the man touched my arms or my back, I was reminded of Break and how his touches felt. It made me embarrassed to be thinking such thoughts in this situation; there were more important things to worry about. I shook my head to try and get the idea out.

"Alva-san? Please hold still while I check your heart rate…"

"Oops, sorry."

I stood still, ridding my mind of said thoughts. I didn't notice how fast the procedure went by. In a few more minutes' time, the man's gaze met mine and he seemed to give off a reassuring smile.

"You're all good to go."

LATER:

I sat in the carriage, staring out the window to admire the scenery around me. The weather was beautiful, exactly the kind I'd wanted to be released to. Gil sat opposite of me, messing with his hair.

"No matter what you do to your hair, it'll always be seaweed."

"How does my hair look anything like seaweed?_!_" Gil yelled, edging closer to me out of anger and sliding down from his seat accidentally.

"You moved a little too far," I laughed. I didn't know why, but I enjoyed poking fun at Gil even though I considered him an important friend. It was beyond amusing to see what kind of things he'd respond with.

"It's a joke, Gil. You've got a lot of personality and I enjoy seeing how you'll react."

"Did Break rub off on you?"

"Huh? I've always been like this! Or, well…" I said uncomfortably. Truth is, Gil may have been right…. however, he wasn't fully right. I wasn't able to act like myself previously due to such behavior being considered childish by all the dukes and duchesses. Now that I was with people who were similar to me – people I could consider close friends – I felt like it was possible for me to be myself for once.

I then felt the carriage come to a sudden halt.

"Sir, Ma'am, we've arrived," called out the carriage driver.

I had nearly forgotten how much time had passed due to our bickering. In a way, this argument was a good thing, as it helped pass time.

Gil went out first, thanking the man for the ride. He turned around and extended a hand to me, which I accepted with a nod.

"Thanks, Gil," I smiled, reaching for his hand.

I looked at the mansion before me, heaving a large sigh of relief to finally be back. I didn't know why, but looking at it from this angle felt… nostalgic, almost. It reminded me of the time I first came here, which wasn't even too long ago.

"Come on," the servant called out, already having opened the doors. Alva was a bit surprised at how quickly he got there; he was probably that anxious to see Oz.

"I'm coming!" I yelled in response, running over to the mansion while Gilbert held the doors open. He turned to face me, pulling out a cigarette yet again but not daring to light it.

"I'm going to go see Oz. You're fine by yourself, right?"

"Of course," I reassured, holding back the urge to make fun of him. "I can handle myself now that I'm here. Thanks for everything, Gil."

He smiled and waved to me, running further into the mansion with his cigarette bouncing in his mouth.

"_He's such a nice guy."_ my mind spoke to itself as I walked in the other direction, planning to head to my room. On my way there, I noticed two familiar faces trekking around the area. I sighed. "_Stupid Gil… he went in the wrong direction."_

"Oz!" I waved. "Hey!"

Oz's head arched back to face me. A smile made its way onto his face; he was chalk full of emotion.

"Alva-chan! You're finally back!"

He clung to me, which made me twitch and choke for breath.

"Y-Yeah, don't worry. I'm f-feeling perfectly fine… now can you please let me go?" I winced. Oz promptly let me go, laughing his trademark laugh and rubbing the back of his head. I was a little taller than he was, which only added to his cuteness.

"Haha, sorry."

"Eh-hem," the other man fake-coughed, slightly annoyed that his existence was forgotten. I looked over at the man and took note of his distinguishing features; he had short brown hair and glasses plastered on his face with a concerned facial expression corroding his core. "Hello, Alva-sama. My name is Reim Lunettes; I'm a member of Pandora and I drop by the Rainsworth mansion every now and then. I've heard about your situation and am glad to see you're doing well. I will pray that you fully recover as fast as possible."

"Oh…" I replied quietly. "Thank you. Nice to meet you, I'm Alva Windwalk."

"Hey, Alva-chan, wasn't Gil supposed to be with you?" Oz asked, remembering his servant while ignoring poor Reim, who popped a vein.

"Err… yes, he was. He told me he was going to find you and ran off in the opposite direction of me." I rolled my eyes whereas Oz facepalmed.

"That's just like Gil… always messing up on small things like these. We should find a cat to taunt him with later as punishment for being so useless."

We shared a moment of laughter together and started walking, Reim tagging along next to us. I didn't really know where they were going, but it wouldn't hurt to follow.

"If there's anything you're curious about, feel free to ask," Reim stated suddenly, adjusting his glasses so they sat better on his face. Oz turned around and blinked. "Since you're the reincarnation of a hero, I think it would only be right to reveal information to you."

"I'm no one but myself, Reim-san. Jack may be inside me, but remember that I am Oz and no one else." Oz walked with his hands in his pockets, smiling calmly while he spoke.

"All right…" I took a breath. "What the hell did I miss?"

"A lot," Oz admitted, although not with much excitement. "Apparently I'm the reincarnation of the hero from the Tragedy of Sablier one hundred years ago. His name was Jack Vessalius, and he's the reason the Vessalius Dukedom went from being a small, poverty-struck group to a rich and well-known family. He's inside my body right now, but…" Oz gently closed his eyes. "I wish people would look at me and not who's inside of me. I am Oz, and Jack is Jack."

I looked down at the ground with surprise.

Silence.

Reim seemed to feel a little uneasy for starting such a topic, shuffling around nervously. He sighed and continued fiddling with his glasses, trying to soothe his nervousness.

"Oh, Break seems really eccentric, doesn't he? Has he always been that way?" Oz suddenly asked, losing his calm tone and reverting back to his curious persona. The three were still walking down the hallway amidst peace and quiet.

"You wouldn't believe how different he was. I met Xerxes around ten years ago and he was very distant back then. He'd refuse to speak to anyone and never smiled."

I listened closely. Break being an emotional man who never smiled… that seemed too unlike him.

"There were a couple of individuals who changed Break, allowing him to gradually open up. Shelly-sama, Sharon-ojousama's mother, was one of them… her kindness helped Xerxes gain back his ability to smile," Reim continued, now walking in front of the two.

"Really? No matter how hard I try, I can't picture a depressed Break," I said.

"After these ten years, I myself started to doubt that Xerxes had acted so differently in the past. That's how much he changed over the years," Reim sighed, smiling as he walked ahead.

"Hey," Oz said, catching up to Reim. "You said there were a couple of individuals who helped Break, yet you only mentioned one. Who was the other?"

"Ehhh…" Reim muttered. "I'm sorry, but Xerxes requested I not tell anyone without his permission. Apparently it was a very private thing to him."

"Huh? What could it possibly be?" Oz questioned, getting a little irritated that he was denied the info. He proceeded to "harass" Reim, hoping he'd leak the material. The blond did several things to the brown-haired man: tickling, poking, making odd faces, and trying to trip him. Nothing worked.

"Oz-sama… you can try as much as you want, but I'm afraid I can't tell you any more that I already did. If you're that curious, try speaking to Xerxes in person."

Oz threw his hands into the air.

"But you're so much less annoying!"

"Oh, we're finally at the right room. Alice should be beyond this door," Reim said. As the man pried open the door, I noticed he was indeed right: Alice was sitting in the balcony, eating away at all the meat on her table without even stopping for a drink. She looked over at the three with a lump of food hanging from her mouth.

"Oh, so she's finally back," Alice muttered, devouring the chicken in one single bite. "I heard you were injured pretty badly."

"She? I have a name, Alice," I declared, walking up to the girl dressed in red while extending my hand with a smile. "I think we should become friends. You can't get around with just Oz, Sharon, Break, and Gilbert, you know?"

Alice blinked, staring at my hand with an astonished look.

"Are you saying I can eat the meat off of your hand?"

I briskly pulled my hand away, twitching.

"N-No, Alice…" Oz intervened. "Alva-chan means you should shake her hand. It's a sign of friendship."

"Ahh… friends," Alice spoke, tone changing from confused to soft. She was a little hesitant, but extended her hand, which I reached out for. We finally took each other's hands, doing a swift handshake.

"See? That wasn't so ba-"

Before I could finish, someone grabbed me from behind. I tensed up, wondering whose grip it was that was so powerful.

"Uncle Oscar! What are you doing?" Oz called. Tears streamed down the blond adult's face and the group couldn't help but feel like something bizarre was going on. Alice's eyes were wide open in shock, as were mine.

"There's no time for talking, it's an emergency! Oz, Alice, we're going to find Gil and go on a mission that Uncle really needs help solving!"

He grabbed Oz and Alice by their collars and began dragging them out of the room, adding in a: "I'll explain later!"

"H…huh?" I questioned in shock.

"Ahh, Alva-chan, it doesn't seem like I'll be able to get out of this. I'll see you later!" Oz said in a hoarse tone, struggling to speak. I waved to them uncomfortably, watching as the two were dragged out of the room and entirely out of sight.

"Ho-hum… I guess I should go speak to Sharon now. She should've been the first person I went to, but… this place can get so crazy sometimes," I sighed, exiting the room and walking down the left hallway.

After five minutes of walking down the halls, I spotted a room that seemed to be "calling out to me." Was I beginning to develop a power of sensing others? That sure would've been convenient. I quietly made my way over to the area and took a peak through the aperture; indeed, it appeared to be Sharon.

"Come in," Sharon's voice was heard. I froze – so she noticed my presence. I did as I was told, a little surprised to see Sharon lying down on the bed as if something had happened.

"Sharon… uh, I'm back. Did something happen?"

"Alva-san!" Sharon called out with surprise. "I'm so glad to see you're all right!"

"_So she noticed someone was outside, but didn't know it was me. Why am I not surprised?"_

"What about you?" I questioned.

"Well, a lot happened… it's mainly the fault of Vincent Nightray. I'm fine now, though, so please don't worry," Sharon said while bowing courteously, smiling ever-so-faintly. Vincent again…?

I did a double take around the room, noticing that Sharon was the only one here besides me. "I thought Break would be here, but guess not."

"Oh, Break left about fifteen minutes ago. He's probably very worried about you, so why not look for him?" Sharon winked. I looked away.

"Oh, fine. I guess I need to speak to him anyways," I spoke, taking one final glance around the room. Now that I thought about it, this room seemed very familiar and I didn't know why. It seemed like Lucifer's return had done more than just bring back my illegal contractor seal. "I'll see you later, Sharon. Get better soon."

I exited, gently shutting the door to Sharon's room. I then began pacing around nervously while trying to figure out what my mind was trying to make me remember. Before I knew it, I had walked in circles in the same hallway almost four times.

"This is driving me crazy. I don't know why, but I feel like there's something I really need to find out as soon as possible," I muttered out loud, trying to come to a conclusion on what her next step should be. As I proceeded to take my next step, the door nearby whizzed open, causing me to bump into the person on the other end. I winced, rubbing my nose.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" I turned around, blowing my bangs out of my eyes and looking at the source. The one responsible for this was none other than Mr. Clown himself.

"My, Alva-san. Please watch where you're going," he said with a smile, waving his cane around. "I've been looking for you. Are you all right?" he dropped his smile, putting on a more pensive face.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Sorry about bumping into you, Break." I stood up, smiling warmly at him. He grinned in return. Suddenly, Break softly touched my chin and lifted it up so I'd look at him in the eyes. I probably turned thirty different shades of red at that moment.

"You don't look too well. Is something on your mind~?"

"Well… no, not really," I white-lied. "Let me go, you pervert."

"You're a bad liar, Alva-san," he laughed in unison with Emily and let his hand drop to his side. "There's no point in even trying to hide things if you're going to fail that badly."

I steamed, embarrassed at myself. It looked like it wouldn't do me any good to continue hiding things from this observant yet creepy guy.

"You sure have a habit of shoving yourself into other people's business, Break. Since you seemed to have already noticed, I'll tell you. I'm not sure what it is… I just feel like there's something I'm forgetting that I need to remember."

Before he could reply, someone else made their way from out the corner of the hallway. His short brown hair sat neatly on his head and I immediately recognized the individual as Reim.

"Hello, Alva-san, Xerxes Break. I hope you don't mind but I seemed to have overheard your conversation, although it was only the most recent part."

"Hello there, Reim-san~" Break sang.

"Hello, Reim-san. It's not a problem; could've been worse." I added while rolling my eyes at Break.

"You know, Alva-san, this whole scenario fits the description of an event that was previously researched by Pandora and it's gotten me curious."

Break glared at Reim as if he knew what the man was about to say next. Reim noticed the death glare and worriedly looked back at him.

"…sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, Xerxes." Reim added.

I looked back and forth between the two, trying to read the tension.

"I'm curious about what's going on, but if it hurts Break to talk about this, I will stay back," I said. "After all, he can be really scary when he's mad."

"You're very similar to someone I knew," Break stammered, pulling out some candy. He quickly regained his composure, however. "It may just be my old age, though. I'm such an old man, you know~"

I sweatdropped.

"_Similar to who, exactly? I probably shouldn't ask."_

"Alva-san doesn't seem to be enjoying going through this sudden déjà vu, so why don't we investigate~?" Break suggested, a teapot now sitting on his head. _Where_ did he pull that from? It wasn't there a second ago! The Mad Hatter sure did like his tea.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Xerxes. Researching this will greatly benefit Pandora's investigation on the Intention of the Abyss and Tragedy of Sablier. Alva-san, since you appear to be struggling with lost memories and are the contractor of Lucifer… I'd like to ask you something."

I swallowed. His voice had become so serious that I was afraid Reim would admit something devastating, like my family was actually responsible for causing the Tragedy of Sablier and I'd be tortured then arrested and-

"When did your déjà vu start?"

I snapped out of my phase and thought for a second.

"Well…" I spoke up nervously. "I felt it when I saw the front doors of this mansion as well as at random times in the hallways and rooms." I inched my head forward a bit to make sure the brown-haired member of Pandora heard every word, as I didn't want to repeat it. Break was leaning against the wall, half of him listening and the other half too absorbed by the lollipop he magically pulled from thin air.

"Hmm…" Reim tapped his chin with his finger, which I actually thought was pretty cute. "Lucifer is said to have a history of erasing the minds of its contractors and storing the information elsewhere. I have a feeling when Lucifer returned to your side, the information it took away from you began returning as well. You may be slowly remembering parts of your past… and on top of that…"

Suddenly, Break stepped in front of Reim, covering his mouth with his sleeve for whatever reason. His bangs covered his eye in such a fashion that made it difficult to see his face.

"Allow me, Reim-san~" Break looked back up, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth. "It's also been said that Lucifer takes control over another body to give to its contractor. So the body you're in now may not be your own," he finished.

"What..? How can that be possible…?" I stuttered, feeling disgusted to even think about it. "So there's a chance that this is someone else's body?"

"Alva-san..." Reim said in worried tone.

"I feel so violated." I added in uncomfortably.

"I think it's the other way around," Break laughed. "The person whose body you were given should be the one to feel violated~"

I held my hands at my sides, disgusted that Break would even crack that kind of joke. I glared at him before dropping all forms of personality from my face and looking down at the carpeted flooring.

"God, you're not making _anything_ better, Break! I'm going to go outside. Thank you for filling me in, Reim-san, but I'd appreciate some alone time right now."

And as I said that, I ran in a random direction; all I cared about was getting as far away from these two as possible. Before I disappeared completely out of sight, I heard the faintest voice mumble out amidst a sigh,

"Xerxes, you're an idiot…"

Ignoring it, I ran for what seemed like hours, recognizing the next hallway I entered and making a right, which made me end up at the front entryway. I made my way down the long flight of stairs and outside the mansion, breathing in the fresh evening air. Now that I was alone and free of the hellhole that was the Rainsworth mansion, I trekked over to the garden and sat in my favorite spot, admiring the roses surrounding me and staring off into the orange sky.

In my spite, I clasped the grass beneath me and mentally screamed out from stress. I fell down and lay gently on my side, shutting my eyes slightly.

"_What am I supposed to do about this? I can't let myself just sit around, but I also don't know what to do…"_

Suddenly, an idea came to me.

"Lucifer!" I yelled as I pounded against my illegal contractor seal. "Get your face over here!"

Nothing.

"Lucifer! You better come! Your master's calling!"

No response.

"Ugh, why won't he listen to me?"

Someone then plopped down next to me, making me jump up in surprise. "Hmm. I have an idea."

"Break! What are you doing here? I said I'd prefer to be alone, didn't I?"

"I already said you're a bad liar, didn't I?" Break mimicked slyly. "In reality, you actually want company. It's quite easy to understand kids."

I turned away, still angry at his earlier remark. "So I'm a kid to you, huh..."

"Yes. Quite a beautiful one~" he laughed. Saying my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets would be an understatement. I coughed into my hand and shuffled a bit to let my nervousness subside.

"What was your idea?"

"I was recalling when we were taken into Cheshire's territory. It seemed like Lucifer came out on its own for the first time in a while due to Mad Hatter being nearby. If I summon my Mad Hatter again, maybe Lucifer will also make an appearance," Break suggested, stretching his arms out and enjoying the sunset.

"But Break… using the Mad Hatter hurts you, so I don't want-" At that moment, Break placed a finger to my mouth to silence me.

"If you think it'll help, I'm willing to do it~ It's all in good fun!"

I stared into his eyes, prying his hand away.

"All in good fun, huh…? You're such a weirdo. But if you're volunteering, then… go for it."

Break shut his eyes, a dark-colored aura slowly amplifying around him and taking shape to reveal Mad Hatter. Seconds later, similar smoke appeared around me. I watched the scenario unfold with my mouth wide open as Lucifer appeared in the same fashion as Mad Hatter.

"It… worked?" I blinked. "Holy shi-"

"Language," Break quickly interrupted. "And yes… it appears we're successful~!"


	7. Scroll VII

"Mad Hatter and Lucifer!" I said out loud, stating the obvious. I was getting so anxious that my mouth moved on its own.

"Hmm~ looks like it worked," Break said, standing in front of me and leaning against his cane. He looked at the two chains, which stood motionless next to each other due to not being given any commands upon being summoned.

Suddenly, someone crashed into me from behind, causing me to fall onto the floor. Luckily, my reflexes saved me from breaking my nose. I struggled to get up, turning around to see the source.

"Alva-chan! Are you okay? We just got back from Latowidge academy and thought you were being attacked by chains!" Oz said with widened eyes. Behind him were Oscar, Gil, and Alice.

"You didn't have to go that far, Oz…" I put a palm to my face. "You nearly broke my bones."

"…sorry…"

Alice, unfortunately, didn't look too satisfied. She gave her contractor a swift kick in the face.

"Oz! You're my manservant, so stop getting involved with other people!" she said with a blush.

"O-Oz!" Gil stated worriedly, picking up a sobbing Oz. "Stupid rabbit, I guess you still don't understand the concept of friends!"

"Everyone, I think we need to pay more attention to what's in front of us," Oscar said in a serious tone, walking over to a slightly apprehensive Break. "Xerxes, what are you planning on doing? I know you've been curious about Lucifer for a long time, but… you're not planning on using Alva-san to get what you want, are you?"

I looked away, fearing what Oscar had just said. To me, Break came off as an insanely comical and friendly-in-his-own-odd-way person, but… I realized he was like this to everyone and may've been acting in such a way just to deceive people. I shook my head to rid it of those distasteful thoughts… something like that would hurt, especially since I _was_ developing something for him…

"Goodness, I thought you knew me better than that, Oscar-sama. I'm merely interested in getting Alva-san's memories back…" he looked down onto the ground, hair covering his right eye. "Didn't ojou-sama tell you I'm not all about hurting people?"

Oz, Gil, and Alice couldn't believe what they just heard.

"I find that very hard to believe, clown," Alice retorted, crossing her arms.

"That's gotta be a lie, Break," Gil added.

"Break and nice does not go together. But anyways, where did the chain next to Mad Hatter come from?" He questioned.

"Uh… that would be my chain, Oz..." I admitted, hoping they wouldn't think differently of me.

"Ehh?_!_" Oz choked on his spit. Alice stared wide-eyed at the creatures before her; Gil, though, knew I was a contractor, but had no idea Lucifer was my chain.

"We'll explain things later. Right now, isn't there something more important to do? Alva-san seems to want to get her memories back… let's help her. I'm sure Alice knows what it's like to have a desire for your lost memories," Oscar intervened.

Alice stayed quiet and merely stared straight ahead.

The previously-orange sky was beginning to dye itself a darker, blackish coating.

"So, what are we doing?" Gil asked, standing next to Oz protectively. It had been ten minutes since the chains were summoned and since then, no one had done a thing.

"We're waiting," Break filled in, leaning against his cane with no smile on his face. "Lucifer isn't a very obedient chain, so it may fly off if it's given it a command it doesn't like. This thing is very stubborn~"

"How are we going to get anywhere if we just wait around?"

I closed my eyes, trying to think of a solution. Suddenly, flashbacks of my past in the Windwalk Dukedom blazed through my head. I cringed and tightened my fist.

"_I want to know the truth... I don't want to live in a world full of lies,"_ I said to myself, not realizing that my thoughts were being projected into reality and were heard by the whole group via Lucifer's telepathy. "_How can I expect to help my friends when I can't even help myself?"_

"We're right by you, Alva-chan," Oz said with a smile, giving a thumbs up.

"It definitely won't be as hard when you have so many friends to help you," Oscar added, giving a teeth-filled smile while grabbing Alice, Oz, and Gilbert from behind.

"Thanks, you guys," I smiled. "I guess even if I didn't find out, it wouldn't be a problem. After all, I'm lucky to have you all."

At that moment, everything around us went black. Lucifer and Mad Hatter faded away instantaneously, which worried me. Were they declining my wish? Was I going to be sucked into the Abyss or something for making Lucifer mad?

However, as I closed my eyes and awaited my downfall, a sudden light emerged back to the surface. I slowly opened my eyes again when I felt it was safe, staring around the fragment of memory that seemed to form before us.

"Oh my. It appears Alva's speech seemed to have gotten Lucifer to listen. I guess Mad Hatter really wasn't the only key needed to unlocking Lucifer's powers," Break said. Just then, his eyes widened at the sight that fully took form in front of him.

"This is…"

"What is it, Break?" asked Oz. "Tell me!"

Break didn't respond.

"It seems like being here is doing more harm than good, so I'll do the honors," I said coolly, walking into the sphere-shaped fragment and past the barrier protecting the zone. What I saw shocked me – a familiar garden stood right before me, with a young Sharon playing with a ball. I tried to walk up to her, but-

In that moment, Lucifer formed in front of me, scaring me to all hell.

I noticed everyone outside the fragment panic; Break tried to jump in to help me but could not seem to get past the violet barrier placed in front of him. He pulled out a sword and prepared to slash his way through, but stopped. He knew better; damaging this space could result in problems for them all.

"Lucifer," I said. "I refuse to be afraid anymore, so please give me the answer I desire. I'm…" I took a pause. "I am your master and you will do as I say!"

The chain closed its eyes, disappearing. As soon as every trail of him was gone, something seemed to come into the minds of everyone in this dimension.

I watched as the memory took shape.

"_So how is he doing, Reim?" A blue-eyed female dressed in white asked, looking worriedly over to the man._

"_Not very good, I'd say," the man with glasses sighed. "He's pushing everyone away and only making things worse for his wound."_

_She sighed, imagining how much pain the man must have went through. She fiddled with her fingers nervously, wondering what'd happen next. _

"_He's still beyond that door, but I recommend you don't go in. It's probably a bit dangerous. Anyways, Naomi-san, I need to go and report this to Shelly-sama. Thank you for listening."_

_Naomi nodded with a smile, waving to Reim as he exited the hallway. Her eyes made their way to the door where the newcomer was located, getting more curious by the second. Deciding she couldn't hold in her curiosity any longer, she slowly opened the door and peeked in, seeing a white-haired man sitting on the edge of the window. He had bloody bandages wrapped around his left eye. As she stepped in, he noticed her, looking over in her direction._

"_Don't get anywhere near me…" the man stated furiously, covering his damaged eye so it wasn't visible. "Don't look at me!"_

"_But your eye…" she replied uncomfortably. "You can't just sit here and not get it treated."_

"_I'm fine. I can do it myself," he seethed, noticing the worry in her eyes. It bugged him slightly. Why would someone who just now met him be so worried?_

_Naomi didn't listen. She closed in to the agitated man and pulled his hand away from his eye so he would no longer touch it. She looked at him, still pinning his arm down._

"_Please don't do that. It's a little weird," added the female, ignoring his wish._

_The man's crimson eye widened, confused at the scene. "I told you not to get near me... why do you even care? Why are you acting so carefree?_!_" _

_Naomi did not lose her focus and gave him a hard stare._

"_Like I said, you need to get treated. You're suffering by just sitting here. Do you want to die?"_

"_I'd rather be dead. If I had the energy, I'd kill myself right now."_

_The female narrowed her eyes and gave a sigh. "I'm going to go call the doctor to bandage up your eye, so wait here, okay?" She let go of his arm as she finished her sentence._

"_I said I'd be fine...!" _

"_It'll be okay, I promise," Naomi waved to him with a smile, trying to calm the man down. She left the room, leaving the white-haired man staring at the door with a confused look on his face. _

_Soon after, a group of doctors arrived to help the newcomer, treating his eye to ease the pain as well as bandaging it up so the damage was no longer visible and had the chance to heal quicker. The man hesitated letting "outsiders" touch him, but thanks to the words of a certain brown-haired girl, he had calmed down for the moment. The time afterwards was spent sitting in his room, looking out the window._

_Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and came in. It was, expectedly, Naomi._

"_Are you feeling all right?" she questioned. "Also, I'm sorry for not introducing myself before. I'm Naomi; I frequently visit the Rainsworths and I'm a member of an organization called Pandora."_

"_I no longer have a name," he looked away, sadness corroding his single crimson-colored eye. Naomi looked at him for a second before getting an idea; she tugged him from the windowsill and dragged him out of the room. His eye widened, but he did not find the desire to break away._

"_Why don't we go check out the garden? You've been sitting inside all day and it wouldn't hurt to see your surroundings," she suggested, dragging him outside. "Shelly-sama already met you, so I want to take the time to get to know you as well."_

_The two exited through the back of the mansion, where many trees and flowers were visible. Different-colored roses sat on many bushes that circled a few neatly-made benches, surprising the white-haired man._

"_This is my favorite part of the mansion," Naomi said, pulling out a daisy from the ground. "You like it too, don't you?"_

_The man stayed silent, awkwardly looking around. Suddenly, he spoke up._

"_Why did you bring me here…?" _

"_So you could see the beauty of the world you're a part of," added the brown-haired girl, looking up to the clear blue sky. Suddenly, a little girl ran up to Naomi, flailing her arms around. Her hair was a lighter brown than Naomi's and she had big, brown-colored eyes._

"_Naomi-onesan!" she pointed to the direction of a bush, where a few white rosebuds were visible. "Look! White roses are growing!" the little girl said excitedly._

"_Wow, you're right, Sharon! I'm sure they'll be beautiful in no time." Naomi ruffled the top of Sharon's head which made her blush slightly, large smile still present on the girl's face. _

_The white-haired man watched Naomi as she spoke and laughed, confused with her behavior. He looked up at the sky and thought about if it were possible for him to actually be happy ever again… no, definitely not. It can't be possible. _

_The little girl left after speaking with Naomi, intending to play more. She ran off to another side of the garden where the playground was located, trying not to dirty her dress._

_Naomi then got up, looking over at the one sitting next to her. He looked her in the eyes, no longer the menace that he was before. _

"_We're going to go over to the lake, okay?" she suggested. Swiftly, she grabbed his arm and dragged him away once again, nearly tripping in her haste. The two neared the Rainsworth's private lake and Naomi picked up a stick, poking the water with it while staring off at her own reflection. Frogs and fish were visible in the deepest portion of the lake, lily pads floating gently above the water._

"_You're not very talkative," she looked over to the bandaged man with a smile, motioning for him to come closer to the water._

"_I don't see what's going to come out of this..." he said quietly, looking at his reflection in the water. "My life was destroyed and without that, I'm nothing. This is useless."_

"_But you're still here, right?"_

_He looked over at Naomi in surprise, green clothing swaying with the wind._

"_As long as you're alive, there will always be a way to find happiness. Even if a vase breaks, there's a way to put it back together. Sure, it won't look as good as it did before, or maybe it'll have pieces missing, but… it's still standing," the brown-haired girl got up from her knees and looked at him, extending a hand. "All you have to do is try and put the vase back together before throwing it out."_

_The man's eye widened at what he heard. Without much hesitation, he took Naomi's hand as if something was telling him that maybe, just maybe, despite all the sadness…_

…_there was a chance to find happiness again._

As soon as Naomi finished her words, the memory seemed to have come to a close, disappearing out of the minds of everyone it had taken control over. The entire dimension faded away and the group was taken back to where they were before entering the fragmented memory.

"So Alva-chan's real name is Naomi…?" Oz blinked, confused.

"It would appear so. So she's the Naomi that went missing ten years ago…" Oscar said seriously, slowly getting up from his knees while rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone, even Alice, was surprised at what they had just found out. Gil pulled out his gun just in case Lucifer had unexpectedly reappeared.

I stared straight ahead, completely unsure of what to think. Behind me, Break fell down onto his knees, coughing up blood. I ran up to try and help him, but all Break did was force me away and say through a smile,

"Welcome back."

I grinned a bit, bringing a finger to my eye to wipe away the single tear that fell.

"This calls for a celebration!" Oscar threw a fist into the air, ignoring Break's state. "Even though we didn't find out who Ada liked, we did manage to get Alva-san a piece of her memory back."

"Who's Ada?" I questioned.

"My sister, Naomi-chan… or Alva-chan? Which do you prefer?"

I thought about it for a while before blurting out: "The latter."

"Will you join the party, Xerxes?" Oscar added.

I sweatdropped while Break looked up at the blond-haired uncle, sly smile on his face.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Oscar-sama~"

"Oh? Being sarcastic, are you?"

"It'd be better if you didn't show up, stupid clown," Alice finally spoke up, glad to see him in such a pitiful condition.

"Now, now," I said with a small smile, trying to calm the group down. "I'm sorry to ask, Oscar-sama, but can you speak to Sharon about this? I'll take care of Break in the meantime, and the party can start in an hour or so."

"It'd be my pleasure," Oscar winked. I nodded in thanks.

"I'm hungry." Alice's stomach rumbled, causing her to blush. "Oz, let's go eat." With that, she grabbed Oz by the hand and dragged him away back into the mansion. Gil followed, obviously worried for his master.

Oscar also went his own way, waving to me and disappearing into the night. Break and I were now all alone.

"Break, how are you feeling?" I questioned. "I'll take you back inside."

"If possible, Alva-san, I'd like to stay here," he said, lying himself down onto the cold grass. The wind blew a bit more harshly, moon reappearing from behind the clouds. "Say, Alva-san~ which name are you going to stick with?"

I blinked, thinking. "Like I told Oz, I'll stay with Alva. I feel it's more right that way." I didn't notice I was unconsciously leaning in closer to Break's body.

"How romantic~" he laughed, flapping his sleeve. Seemed he was already getting better. "But we never did find out what happened to you afterwards, as you did disappear… I suppose there are still mysteries to be solved," he mumbled, dropping his smile.

Ten minutes had passed. I started falling asleep, trying my best to keep my eyes open, which was proving to be too difficult. I closed them but continued to stay in reality, not yet asleep. I heard Break sigh next to me.

"My, my. She gets tired so easily." He moved me gently, placing my head on his chest. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold~" he laughed, eyeing the gorgeous night sky. It was_ so_ hard not to blush furiously or twitch, but somehow I managed to conceal everything.

Just as he was about to close his own eye and drift off, he heard footsteps from behind.

"Found you, Break," said a familiar female, running to him while holding her dress up like a princess. Oh god, it was Sharon. Break cringed. "I heard from Oscar-sama, and… oh my!"

She gasped at what she saw, stars appearing in her eyes.

Break sweatdropped, afraid of what Sharon would do next.

"This is such a romantic moment." Sharon beamed. "Break smiles while watching the night sky with Alva-san sleeping on his chest. I'm shocked, Break. I didn't know you were such a romantic. But still…" Sharon muttered. "I'm surprised to find out this is the Naomi that we once knew…"

"Ojou-sama…" he said quietly, hoping not to wake Alva up.

"I bet he'll be taking Alva to bed after the party~" Emily suddenly spoke up, lying on the grass just like Break was. Break quickly grabbed the doll and nearly choked her, embarrassed to have heard such a thing.

I couldn't help it; I turned beet red.

"What did I tell you about minding your manners, Emily~?"

"Oh, that's right, Break! The party will be starting soon, so make sure to wake Alva-san up," Sharon said, pulling out her metallic fan. "If you don't show up, I'll be forced to do something very bad to you…" she threatened, going back into the mansion while waving her painful-looking fan around.

Little did they know it, I had one eye opened and was paying attention to this whole thing. I quickly shut it as Break turned back around to look at me.

"Alva-san." Break shook me. "Wake up."

I tried to sound as tired as possible, making sure this whole thing was plausible enough. I sat up and yawned, stretching my arms.

"Did I sleep for that long?" I asked.

"It's quite all right~" Break laughed. "But the party is going to start any minute, so I was forced to wake you up."

Hearing this, I immediately jumped up from the ground and onto my feet. "Oh, it's going to start soon? I need to hurry and change into something else, then!" I yelled excitedly. Now that I realized it, I haven't been to a party in a long time.

"If you need someone to accompany you while in the changing room, I'm always available~"

"…hell to the no."

"Just joking~"

"Sometimes I wonder about that."


	8. Scroll VIII

I stood silently with arched eyebrows, watching clothing fly out of the closet as my oh-so-lovely "friend" rummaged through piles of regal outfits.

"Break, you can't treat clothing that way. And can you let me in now? It'd be better if I picked for myself," I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips.

Break's head stuck out of the changing room, eyeing my figure from top to bottom.

"H-Hey!" I stormed. "What are you looking at me that way for?_!_"

"Mmm," the white-haired man muttered, ignoring me and pulling out a short pink mini-dress. "Too small."

"Unnnnghhh…" I moaned, getting frustrated. "Break, hurry up alr-"

At that moment, Break slid down the pile of clothing hidden in the closet with a blue dress sitting on his head. He tossed it over to me when he had my full attention, watching me eye its exterior.

"Is this what you want me to wear?"

"I think it suits you," Break said, never losing his calm demeanor. He pulled out some candy from his coat pocket and began munching on it as if he were intending to watch me change.

"I guess this is what I'll go for, then," I stated. "But only because we don't have much time left before the party starts. Also, you're not allowed to watch me change!"

"Aw, darn!" he joked. "I really wanted to, too!"

"Out. Now."

"Fine, fine," he sighed through a smile, heading for the door.

"…and don't you hide anywhere in the room to watch me, you pervert."

"Darn~"

Once he left, I quickly made my way over the mirror and undressed, tossing my clothing aside. I gave the blue dress one final look before getting in it, eyeing myself in the mirror from time to time. In a few moments' time, I was now wearing one of the most regal outfits I'd ever seen.

"I can't believe Break got me this dress," I spoke aloud, examining my figure in the large mirror before me. The lower-portion of the dress was long and extended down to my feet. Dress gloves accompanied the regal attire, length-wise stretching a little past my elbow. I admired the tufts of fur aligned neatly on the sleeve's edges.

I sighed with relief, very glad Break didn't pick out anything too inappropriate and admitted to myself: "It's really pretty… and actually feels comfortable."

I took one final look at the mirror before making my way out the door, a smiling Break waiting for me outside.

"My, my. How very fitting," Break said, taking this as his cue to lead me to the room everyone had been waiting in. "So, Alva-san, follow me~"

"Yeah, whatever."

I nodded, pacing after him while trying to make sure my high heel shoes wouldn't reject the speed. At that moment, I coincidentally looked in the direction of the back of Break's head.

"When did you get that?_!_"

"Hmm~ get what?" he said as he turned around, a curious expression lingering on his face. "Oh, this?" He pointed to the top of his head, where a candelabrum was nested.

"Yes… that," I questioned with my eyes wide.

"I keep them in my pockets~"

Why did I even bother asking?

"…right. Anyways, isn't this the room?"

"Oho," Break glanced over to the door to the right of him. "Yes, seems like it is. Congratulations on finding it," Break threw his sleeves into the air happily before pushing the door open. In the room stood Oz, Gil, Alice, and Sharon; I could tell they'd been having quite a "chat" during the time I wasn't here.

"Oh!" Oz called out from his side of the room, nearly dropping the book he was holding. "Alva-chan, you look so cute!" he stated excitedly, stars appearing in his eyes. I blushed and shifted around uncomfortably.

"Hmm, I believe you should keep off her, Oz-kun," Break said, sending shivers of surprise down my spine. That was not something you'd usually hear from Break; in fact, most of the time, he was the one _promoting_ weird ways of torture.

"Eh?" Oz blinked. "Why? Is she yoooours?"

He inched closer to the hatter, giving him a naughty look. Break sighed and turned away from the blond-haired boy.

"My, my. How uncute you are, Oz-kun."

"Hang on," Alva said, confused. "Why am I the only one dressed like this?"

"Mmm," Sharon looked up from the table, placing her teacup back down gently on its plate. "It's true you overdressed a little, but that's not a problem. I think you look beautiful in that dress! By the way, Alva-san… would you care to speak to me later? I'm just…"

I half-closed my eyes and looked the other way, shushing her. Amidst a sigh, I spoke,

"I know, Sharon. I'm… glad to see you again, too." I couldn't tell why, but I didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. Right now, though, it was mainly the former. She suddenly squealed with delight and embraced me, causing me to stumble back in confusion.

"S-Sharon?"

"It's just so amazing!" she began. "To think you're the same Naomi we knew all those years back, and you're even in love with Break! It's like a scene pulled out of a romance boo-"

"Oh, ojou-sama, it's nice to see you so delighted, but…" Break intervened with a sweatdrop. "…I think it's only proper to let us all share Alva-san for today, don't you think?"

A small gasp escaped Sharon's lips and she loosened her grip on my body, causing me to take a deep breath.

"Yeah, yeah. We're friends, right?" Alice piped in from nowhere, meat dangling in her mouth. "That's what Oz always says, at least."

Oz merely nodded happily, letting us have our moment.

"I know, but still…" Sharon continued.

There was another short moment of silence; Sharon watched me with slight surprise for a moment but then her expression was filled with smiles. If this went on for much longer, I was afraid I'd start a bawl fest… however, thankfully for me, Gilbert knocked over a few books and popped our bubble of emotions. The black-haired man said nothing to us at all; probably because he was in the farthest section of the room with a lit cigarette, trying to make sure the smoke did not reach everyone else.

"Well, I'm going back to my meat. I haven't had it in a while," Alice said calmly and left the group. I squirmed out of Sharon's grasp and watched Gil, whose upper lip all but twitched uncomfortably.

"You had it yesterday, stupid rabbit…"

She glared daggers at him while Oz put his hands in front of himself with an uncomfortable smile to signal them to stop.

And then there was silence. I sat down next to Sharon, crossing my legs and waiting for someone to say something.

"Oscar-sama should be here with the drinks soon," Sharon broke the silence gap. "I wish you came earlier, Alva-san. I was discussing things with Alice-san about romance and it would've been great if you were there." Stars appeared in the girl's eyes and I backed away. I didn't want to deal with that again.

"Oho, speak of the devil," Break said, sitting happily on Sharon's table and listening to the sound of wheels inch closer to the room. "Looks like Oscar-sama is here."

He was right. At that moment, two small serving carts on wheels made their way into the room, Oscar right behind them. Many glasses of red-colored liquid sat neatly atop the carts, waiting for that special someone to reach out for them. The maids happily distributed our drinks and let us have some much-needed space.

"Oh, hello, Oscar-sama," I greeted, giving a courteous bow and then eyeing the drinks. "What're these?" I looked further into my cup.

"Don't you look gorgeous?" Oscar laughed, sipping his drink. "This is juice and it's to celebrate everyone coming back safely. Patrolling Latowidge Academy was a little more dangerous than I expected, but it's a good thing we all came back in one piece. Plus we got some of our fair lady's memories back, which makes this day very much worth celebrating."

"Uncle Oscar…" Oz pondered, having a bad feeling about his drink. "Are you sure this is just juice?"

"Yes, yes. I said not to worry about it, didn't I?" he laughed.

"Well… I guess."

"Okay, everyone to the table," Oscar called out loud, trying to reach out to the Gilbert in the corner who was still smoking. He turned around and stared at everyone, surprised at how much he'd missed. "Gilbert, come on over already!"

"S-Sorry," Gilbert muttered, dumping his cigarette into the trash and making his way to stand next to his friends.

Like told, everyone gathered at the table, each holding a cup in their hands. There were lots of different facial expressions all over; Alice seemed curious, Oz was definitely confused about his drink, Break was happier than ever, Sharon seemed calm, Gil was unsure, Oscar held the same expression as Break, and I was neutral. At least I hoped so.

"Well…" Oscar began. "Cheers for everyone!"

"Cheers!" we all recited in unison, hitting our cups together as a form of celebration.

Before I knew it, something had gone… terribly wrong.

I glanced around the room, afraid to actually admit to myself that Oscar didn't actually give us juice.

Everyone was lying in awkward positions and mumbling to themselves about nonsense, minus Break, Oscar, and Oz. Although I had not known Break for long… or, well, I did, but it felt like I didn't, I was able to tell he had been merely playing along for the good of the situation. I sighed, placing my glass down onto the table and thanking the heavens for allowing me to have a high tolerance for alcohol.

"Uncle, this isn't juice, is it..?" Oz smacked his forehead, sneaking past the deadweights on the floor.

"Sure it is. It's juice, but with a little bit of alcohol in it." He winked, holding a bottle up with his left hand.

"Most people call that wine, Uncle," Oz heaved a sigh, accompanied with my own, placing his drink down next to mine. Oscar sat down onto the couch with Oz, who motioned for me to come over. It was the only completely safe spot with no drunken people around.

"You're already twenty-five, Oz. Everyone here is of age, so there's no need to worry!" Imaginary flowers circled the happy blond. I tried to open my mouth to digress – as several of us merely _lived_ for long enough to be considered "of age" but weren't _actually_ of age – but before I could say anything, something tugged at my stomach.

"_Crap," _I told myself. "Erm, excuse me. I'm going to go to the restroom." I smiled and gave a bow, exiting the room hastily and making a run for the bathroom while trying not to trip.

That damn drink.

Amidst my pants, I had nearly forgotten where the bathroom was. Thankfully I was able to ask a maid to point me in the right direction; turned out it was only a few feet left of the party room. As I finished my business and went to wash my face, I took a glance at myself in the mirror.

"I look… utterly defeated," I told myself, poking at the bags under my eyes. It baffled me as to why they were there, as I slept completely normal. My stress level, however, was questionable. "Well, guess I better get going. Can't keep them waiting forever."

Bidding farewell to the regal bathroom, I dashed out the door and attempted to remember where I came from, which ended in arrival to the correct destination, I noticed things had gotten… quite out of hand. Alice and Gilbert were fighting over Oz, who seemed to be struggling and hoping his body wouldn't get torn in two.

"Oh, Alva-san. You came back at the wrong time," Break leaned back a bit into the sofa, stuffing a slice of pound cake into his mouth. "These two have been going at it for a while and it's quite annoying."

"_I… can tell…" _I told myself, sneaking past them so they wouldn't notice me. I quietly tiptoed past Gilbert and just when I was about to heave a sigh of relief of not being sucked into this mess, a purple-colored hole appeared under both Alice and Gilbert, causing them to drop down into the darkness below. I twitched, turning around.

Oz panicked, looking down underneath and wondering where the two went. Suddenly, Sharon stepped one foot forward while slightly pulling her dress up, hinting that she wanted Oz to kiss her foot as a form of gratitude.

"I seem to have saved you, Oz-sama~" she said with a drunk voice. Oz turned red, heart thumping so loud even I could hear it.

It only went downhill from there. Everyone remained drunk, as expected, minus myself, Oz, and Break. The ones with low alcohol tolerance attacked each other with abusive remarks and even made comments they never were able to without the help of wine, such as Gilbert admitting hating the nickname "Seaweed Head." In the end, Oscar had fallen asleep on the floor and Alice took this to her advantage, scribbling all over his face as well as tying his hair into ponytails.

Now that was picture worthy. I snapped a shot the moment I found the camera.

"You're so naughty~" laughed a familiar uncanny figure. "Oscar-sama won't be too pleased."

"He asked for it. He's the one that brought the drinks here…" I rolled my eyes.

Time passed quickly and two more hours left without a trace. Exhaustion finally ate away at me and I made my way over to the balcony for some much-needed fresh air. As I entered the outside, my eyes immediately darted over to the star-filled sky. Within moments, Break joined me.

"Why're you here? Finally decided to un-super glue yourself from Sharon?"

"Indeed," he laughed. "That mess was seriously getting annoying."

I couldn't help but agree – that was my reason for separating myself from the group.

"So~" he continued, sipping his drink from a straw as if he were a kid. "Ever since remembering that memory, how have you been feeling? Happy? Overwhelmed?"

"Definitely overwhelmed…" I stared him in the eyes, unaware that I was leaning into his shoulder. "But I feel like it's still worth it, so I don't mind feeling that way."

"Maybe some candy will help cheer you up~" he sang, pulling out a familiar brand of candy and shoving it into my face. I eyed him for a moment, forcibly holding back a smile and grabbing it out of his hands.

"Thanks."

"It's only the right thing to do. And don't forget, Alva-san…" he began. "...you don't have to force yourself to remember if you're satisfied with the way you are now."

I quietly stared at the white-haired contractor, deeply in thought for a short moment. However, even though there would be less stress involved for me had I gone with his suggestion, I still felt like…

"I'll figure everything out. Not just for you or Sharon, but for me as well."

He smirked.

"Good, because I had enough of that annoying Cheshire cat in Alice's dimension going on about 'doing it for someone else's sake'…"

I laughed, giving him a light punch in the back of his head. He managed to evade my next hit by jumping onto the railing, inching away like a slinky with his drink now resting on his head as he walked around, trying to keep it balanced. He really was the epitome of hilarity.

"Hey, Alva-chan, Break, what are you doing here all alone?" asked a familiar voice innocently as he walked up to us. Break jumped down from his destination. "And Break, you're trying way too hard to seem drunk."

Break spit out his drink.

"You're not a very cute kid, you know that?" he replied in frustration.

"I'm honored," Oz merely laughed back. "But why are you doing it?"

"I don't want to ruin the mood…" he sighed and looked at the sky, crossing his arms along the railing. I heard Sharon mumble something behind us but couldn't quite tell what it was nor wanted to know – she was a scary kind of drunk.

"That's surprising!" Oz replied enthusiastically yet innocently. "To think there's a mood in this world that you can read."

I snorted to myself. I _loved_ Oz. Break trembled angrily, holding the glass in his hand as it shook.

"I'm going to hit you pretty soon, Oz-kun."

"Break doesn't seem to get drunk easily, unlike a certain someone," I spoke, remembering Gilbert. "I'm lucky that I can tolerate it decently enough, too."

Oz thought about it for a moment and then spoke out: "I think that's pretty cool, actually."

"It's not that much of a good thing, really," Break reassured.

"He's right, it's not," I continued. "There's always a downside to things like that, like how Break is really stupid, a stalker, a freak, a Cyclops, and-"

Break choked his doll to signify that he was angry.

"Now, Alva-san," he spoke angrily and nearly popped a vein. "Please be more courteous."

Oz gave me a pat on the back with a laugh.

"That's really interesting."

"You too, Oz-kun? How ridiculous. It's just that…" The wind picked up speed as he said this, gently blowing our hair around. "I can't get drunk even if I want to. I wonder if it's because I'm so hell-bent on not dying yet."

"Break…" I said. The blond and I shifted around uncomfortably for a while before Oz finally decided to speak up.

"I guess I'll go wake up Alice now and head to bed…" he trailed off. We both watched the boy run off but rather than gently making his way inside the room, he tripped over what I thought was the carpet.

"Ow…" the young voice mumbled. "That really hurt."

"What's wrong, Oz?" I blinked, asking the obvious.

"I tripped over something," he confirmed, rubbing the back of his head. He turned to face whatever object he had tripped over and picked it up, pointing it over in our direction.

"Dust it off," I suggested. The blonde went with the suggestion and cleaned off the now-recognizable maroon-colored notebook.

"What does it say? It's still a little dusty…"

Break quickly glanced in Oz's direction and read over the title for me. "You need glasses, miss. It says Reminiscences of Naomi… that would be you," he finished and continued playing with Emily's hair.

"Uuuugh… I really don't want to know what crap I wrote in there."

"Indeed~" Break said, suddenly sneaking his way under us while we were distracted and pulling the book from Oz's hand. "I'll take that from you now, Oz-kun."

"Wait, why?_!_" Oz got frustrated, staring angrily at Break's face. "I wanted to read it!"

"It's not nice to read a girl's diary," Break countered, waving the book around and leaning back against the railing with one of his feet above the other. "I'm sure the information here could be useful to Pandora, so I'll be confiscating this for the time being. I admit, however, I had no idea Alva-san's diary was in this room."

"So it _is_ my diary…"

"I bet someone knocked it over on accident from being too drunk," Oz said. "But wait, you're a liar, Break! You're just using that as an excuse to read the diary!"

"Now why would I do that~?" Break pulled a sleeve to his mouth, faking an innocent look. "Well… I suppose one look won't hurt."

"Yeah, yeah! Can we read it, Alva-chan?" Oz asked, drilling guilt into my core.

"Well… f-fine," I sighed, tensing up. "I'd like to know what's inside, myself."

"Well~ let's get started, then!" Break turned the hardcover page and was greeted with three pages filled with smudged letters, completely undecipherable. We all blinked.

"Oh my," Break said. "Looks like these pages are too damaged. There's something readable afterwards, though~" he flapped his sleeve and Oz proceeded the next readable area.

_Lots of things have been going on lately. I've started visiting the Rainsworths more often ever since they told me they found some guy lying in front of their door to the Abyss. Shelly-sama personally asked me to help him, which I was hesitant about doing… he frightened me at first, but he's actually not bad at all. I finally met and dragged him out recently to see the outside world, and I dare say he enjoyed it._

_I don't know his name yet, but he's been seeing Shelly-sama lately. I'm glad to see that he's unearthing so much respect for her; she really is an amazing woman, just like her daughter is an amazing girl. Shelly-sama sees him a lot more than I do, but when I do see him, we end up having pretty interesting conversations. Overall, I'd say he's…_

Oz, who was reading the page, slowed down as he prepared to read the next portion of the sentence.

…_quite adorable. Like a puppy, almost._

I choked on my own spit.

"Break and adorable do not go well together!" Oz yelled, causing birds to fly out of their nests from the noise.

"I think Break is adorable?_!_"

"Goodness, how unexpected," Break smiled and looked at me. I tried to avoid eye contact. "I didn't know you had feelings for me~" he sang.

"_What the hell,"_ I muttered in my head. "_I probably look ridiculous right now."_

"Let's not read any more," I finally suggested, quickly snatching the book from Oz's grasp. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to read this over myself before allowing others to help themselves at the info."

"Well…" Oz mumbled. "If the whole book is about Break, I'd rather not read it. So I suppose that'll be fine." He crossed his arms.

"You're such an uncute brat," Break said to Oz, trying to retain his frustration. "But, Alva-san, I suppose that'll do. I'll invade your privacy some other time~ it's getting late!"

"Yeah. So please go away and go to your beds!" came my suggestion.

"Well, I suppose I'll go wake everyone up now and tell them to go to their rooms and sleep. Hopefully I don't trip over anything again…" he darted a few looks around the area. "Well, I'll see you guys later!" he waved, running off into the room. Suddenly, the blond boy stopped. "Oh, and Break, I'm sorry!"

"Hm? What for?"

"For everything!"

"What is this? It's creepy when you act so modest," Break looked at him with curiosity, but Oz did nothing but smile and proceeded to exit the balcony.

I ignored Oz. Not willingly, but unwillingly. My mind was too confused at the recent change of events.

"_I've never had feelings for anyone, which may be the reason for my constant denial,"_ I spoke in my mind. _"I guess I need to figure out if I actually do like Break or not…" _

"Oh no. _Hell_ no," I knocked on my head with both hands, trying to get the idea out of my head. "This is just so..." before I could finish, I heard something.

"Oh, Alva-saaaan~"

Break's face was right in front of mine. An inch apart at maximum, actually.

"Boo."

"What?_!_" I fell back against the closed window door separating us from the inside, wondering what Break was about to do to me. "You're a molester!"

"Now what makes you say that?" he asked, tapping his noggin. "I was just testing to see how you'd react. You're such an amusing girl, Alva-san."

"Seeing how I'd... react? That's some twisted sense of humor!" I choked, dusting my beloved dress as I regained my composure.

"Mmm," Break said with a slightly eerie tone. "I'm crippled, though. So if you truly do feel something for me, do know that I won't be around for much longer." He dropped his smile and looked down at the ground, crossing his feet while leaning against the fence of the balcony.

"…why?" I asked even though I already partially knew the answer.

"It's not hard to understand, miss~" he smirked. "Side effects of my contract really take their toll on my body. I'm sure you've seen the effect of using Mad Hatter and noticed that it gets worse the more I use my chain's power."

"But can't you… not use it, then?" I bestowed him with some of my so-called "advice".

"Unfortunately, no. I'm in Pandora, meaning dire situations often arise and my power is sometimes necessary. I'm afraid my vision is starting to go a little poor on top of other things."

"Break…" I spoke quietly. "You… you're so stupid."

"Now, no need to be upset, Alva-san. All humans die at one point and this is just a part of life. You won't be here forever, I won't, Oz-kun won't, and neither will anyone else~" Break turned around to look up at the sky, smiling a different kind of smile from his usual. He seemed like he came to a realization.

"I won't complain," I said. "There's no point in that, after all. Instead, we'll make sure to make the best of your life while you're here."

"Indeed. That is a good suggestion~"

We were so busy with our conversation that we didn't even notice the entire party room was now completely empty; looks like everyone had gone to bed already. I had to do a double take to notice a small, yellow sticky-note hanging on the side of the balcony walls. I took it off and quickly read it.

_Alva-san,_

_It looks like you and Break are having a romantic moment, so I'll leave you two be. Good night!_

_Sharon_

I sighed, crumpling up the piece of paper without even letting Break read it. He seemed curious and looked over in my direction.

"Ojou-sama really likes to do these types of things," Break said, snatching the paper from my hand as I tossed it into the garbage bin and unfolding it, ticking me off. "So I'm not surprised she wrote this."

"Hey, Break. Mind asking first?"

"If you love me, you shouldn't mind~"

"Why is it that you always tell me what is and isn't 'ladylike' yet you keep doing these things yourself?" I said. "Oh, you're not going to corner me by being all cute, either."

"Can I corner you this way?"

Suddenly, Break pinned me against the wall, leaning his face close to mine for the second time. My jaw nearly snapped off.

"Ohoho~" he laughed softly. "You're so easy to control. I love it."

"C-Can I go to bed now? I need to think some things over, you know," I stuttered, trying to speak normally with Break's face nearly glued to mine. Surprisingly, he moved away and let me go. "Thanks, pervert. Good night!" I waved to Break and ran off to my room at the speed of light, trying to hide my embarrassment.

Upon getting there, I shut the door with great haste and changed into my sleeping clothes, plopping onto the bed and closing my eyes, hoping to fall asleep in seconds. I _really _couldn't keep myself calm right now.

At that moment, the bed shook. I nearly shrieked, falling off of the warm haven and onto my back. I rubbed my head and winced in pain, hoping it wasn't an earthquake.

"There's only one idiot this could be…" I quietly spoke. "He better not have seen me change. That guy is so annoying…"

But of course. No one other than Break popped out from under beds. He crawled out from under the bed and sat on it, admiring its softness.

"Break… please let me sleep…" I slapped my forehead.

"You forgot this~" Break extended a diary to me, which baffled me just slightly. "Wouldn't want someone to find it tomorrow morning and read it, would you?"

I was about to scold him, but his trip here was actually meaningful this time. I was glad Break respected my privacy and brought the book back to me; snatching it from his hands in great haste, I proceeded to shove it into the closest drawer.

I then eyed the door to hint that it was time for the white-haired man to leave, but he did no such thing. Instead, Break fell down onto the bed and stretched his arms, putting them behind his head. His coat was becoming undone from all the commotion today. I unconsciously inched closer to get "a better look".

"You like this?" he blinked.

"Shut up, Break…" I turned away shyly. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"I have to do something before I die, don't I?" Break motioned me to come closer to him with his finger, making me turn beet red.

"I'm going to tell Sharon how you behave around me, I swear…."

"We're not children anymore, Alva-san," he did the honors of closing in on me and poked my cheek.

"Even so, I said no. Go away."

"So you don't want to? Tell me if you change your mind tomorrow~"

"Your jokes aren't funny!" I nearly had fake tears fly out from my eyes at this point, unable to believe what I had just heard. Break was getting more and more unpredictable as time went by.

I took a deep breath and prepared to scream. Break blinked in confusion at first but quickly got the message – he swiftly disappeared into one of my cupboards.


	9. Scroll IX

**PPC: I'm following the manga from here on, since the Duke Barma visit is when the anime starts to stray off in its own direction. Just letting you guys know there won't be a Jabberwocky, Oz going to see his father, etc like the anime had in the last few episodes.**

* * *

I paced around my room, trying to rid my mind of these useless thoughts. I thought about the party last night and what Break spoke to me about and now I can't seem to get it all out of my head. I tried to get my mind back on track by looking out the window, sun setting and nighttime making its way out to greet our side of the world.

I looked at the clock – almost eight PM.

Today was very uneventful. Most of my activity consisted of the usual human necessities, small shopping breaks, skimming my diary (which had nothing interesting so far), or doodling. That was it.

Everyone had been rather "tired" from all the wine yesterday brought them – or as us most of us knew it, they had hangovers. Break waltzed in a few times, questioning me about why I was shutting myself in the whole day, but I assured it was nothing but tiredness from all the drinking last night.

But truthfully, that wasn't the actual reason. Not only did the information revealed in my diary make me think too much, but we were also scheduled to attend an event later today and it made me sick to my stomach. Why did Oscar decide to give us his so-called "juice" the day before an important meeting?

I made a mental note to smack him next time I saw him.

Reim had told us all on short notice, but apparently a man by the name of Duke Barma had extended invitations to Oz, Gil, Alice, Break, and me to come see him in an opera house belonging to Pandora Headquarters. It seemed like this trip would be of great importance… another reason for me to not want to go.

"I guess I'll go get something to eat before we go," I told myself, stretching my arms to get myself back into normal mode. I walked out of the room and made my way to the dining room, wondering what was there that I actually would be able to force down into my body without throwing up.

I hadn't been eating too well the last few days.

As I arrived, I asked one of the maids what was available and she merely smiled,

"Oh, just name whatever you want and we'll make it, Alva-sama."

"That's okay," I replied. "I'm looking for something already made that someone with… a headache can force down. Nothing big."

"Oh, that isn't a problem, Alva-sama. I'll go get you the ready-made and quick food right away."

With that said, the black-haired maid ran off into another large room in the corner.

I sat down at the large table, realizing just how lonely I felt. The table was enormous – large enough for fifty people, at least – and I looked like a hog sitting here all by myself.

"_Well," _I began._ "At least this gets the other problems out of my head, so I don't really mind. But still… sure wish someone were with me."_

Just as I finished speaking to myself, the same maid scurried back into the dining room, pushing a cart of food to the table. She placed everything in front of me and bowed courteously.

"Please pick whichever you desire."

"Uh…" I looked at what was before me: instant ramen, many different fruits, delicious-looking sandwiches, a small plate of ratatouille, and other things that I probably wouldn't be able to keep down.

"Do you happen to have any candy? I need the sugar to help my brain work better more than ever right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the maid said with a disappointed look. "But it seems we're all out. I'll go ahead and inform the rest of the maids to go out and purchase more; they should be here by tomorrow morning at latest. Please forgive me."

"Geez…" I spoke quietly, smacking my forehead. "I wonder who ate enough candy for two hundred people. Or maybe we aren't actually out of candy and instead that same person just stole them all and took them to _his_ room."

"Hmm? Is something the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'll grab the apple, then – thanks a lot! I'll be on my way now," I thanked the maid with a bow and took the apple, biting into it while praying this wasn't too hard to stomach. I headed out the door and waved goodbye to the maid, who smiled and did the same back almost shyly.

As I exited the room, my haste caused me to bump into someone's warm body. I stumbled back and quickly regained my footing, looking up to see the source.

"Oh, there you are, Alva-san. We're leaving to see Duke Barma any minute now, so it's in your best interest to get changed into something proper," he laughed.

"You're one to talk, Break," I retorted. "You're the one wearing a black suit with a long black coat covering it. You look like you just came out of a funeral or were outside murdering people."

Break's eye widened for a split second, causing me to feel concerned. Did I accidentally touch upon a fragile subject? This wasn't the time to ask, though, so whatever.

"Okay, I'll go get dressed. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Break," I smiled at Break and tapped his lips with my finger, heading off into my changing room. I wondered what he thought of me doing that… well, probably nothing past how strange I was.

Thankfully I already showered today, so all I had to do was find a fitting outfit. I decided to wear something dark and gloomy, just as Break did. When in doubt, follow the crowd! I sprang out of the room in my new black-laced dress, heading for the carriage that awaited me outside. As soon as I pried the door open and climbed inside, I noticed an argument had already ensued between these bickering individuals.

Alice looked quite impatient, crossing her arms while leaning against the wooden walls of the carriage.

"My, my. I really love the seat next to the window," said Break.

"Hey, Break! That was supposed to be Oz's seat!" Gilbert called out from outside, flailing his arms.

An anger vein formed on Oz's head. There was nothing one could do to change Break's unpredictable behavior. They then finally noticed me – about time.

"Sorry about being late. I'm ready."

With that, we were all driven away to our destination. It only took about half an hour for us to arrive – I adjusted my dress when it was time to get out, hoping I looked as best as possible. Heading out, I arched my head forward to get a better look of the building – elegant, as expected.

"So this is it?" I stated, watching Oz, Gil, and Alice make their way out of the carriage. "An opera house, huh?"

"So it's already time to leave? Pity," Break laughed from inside. "I quite enjoyed the feeling of Alva-san leaning on my shoulder~"

"Huh?" I blinked. "I was just tired, Break! Oz is too short so I wouldn't be able to lean on him, and he was the only one sitting next to me besides you."

"Break is a perverted old man!" Emily suddenly spoke up.

Break grabbed his doll, strangling her painfully to make sure such words never came out of her mouth again.

I turned around, wondering why the white-haired man dressed in black was taking so long to make his way out the carriage.

"Come on, Break. Everyone's waiting."

He smiled and exited the carriage, following me from behind. The group headed up the large stairway leading to the front entrance, staring off into the gracefulness of the tall building.

"I've never been to an opera house before…" Oz spoke, mesmerized. Alice seemed frustrated with her red dress and high-heel shoes, struggling to walk up the stairs without falling.

"That attire is required, so deal with it, stupid rabbit," Gil stated calmly, walking as close to Oz as possible. The group looked up and noticed Reim standing in front of the entrance with the doors wide open. He looked way more serious than I thought was healthy.

"I've been expecting you all," he said. "Allow me to take you to my lord, Rufus Barma."

Suddenly I didn't have a good feeling about this.

We entered the building and followed Reim, speaking to each other about various things of importance related to this meeting; I heard something about the Tragedy of Sablier, Jack Vessalius, and the four main Houses that made up Pandora. I said nothing and merely listened in, as I had nothing to could contribute to the conversation.

Suddenly, Reim stopped in front of a curtain-covered door. He took a deep breath and pushed back the green-colored curtains, the crew following behind after him.

"Excuse me, Rufus-sama. Oz Vessalius and his party have-" he stopped mid-sentence, mouth wide open from shock. "C-Cheryl-sama?_!_ Why are you here?"

I didn't expect to see a good-looking red-haired guy driving an old lady around in a wheelchair, but I stayed quiet. Cheryl… that name seemed familiar. If I remembered correctly, she was Sharon's grandmother.

"Today's such a nice day for tea drinking~" she spoke, looking in our direction. The red-haired man did the same but made no remarks. "And I was invited to the meeting, so that's why I'm here."

I could already see where Sharon got her personality from. Torture and abuse was seeping out from this woman. She brought a hand to her mouth, smiling happily as she turned to look at Oz. Break and Gil moved over to the balcony room, where they admired the view below. I didn't know what they had to look at since I wasn't with them, my eyes instead fixated on the woman in front of me.

She began chatting away with Oz, getting rather friendly.

"Ruf is quite a handful," she spoke with a smile. "I'm glad to finally be able to meet you and your party, Oz Vessalius."

Oz replied with a smile of his own and bowed sincerely.

Cheryl arched her head over to me, extending her hand out. I looked at it in surprise, wondering why she was performing such a gesture.

"Um… Cheryl-sama?" I began. "Do you want me to shake your hand?"

"Of course!" she giggled ever-so-slightly. "It's a pleasure for you to finally be back… Alva now, is it? We've missed you."

I blushed a little, giving her a firm handshake and accepting the welcoming. I figured Reim now knew as well, meaning news additionally spread to Cheryl. It made me satisfied since I definitely felt too pressured to have revealed that info myself. As I moved back to give the woman some space, Oz spoke up again:

"Oh, you called him Ruf… are you close friends?" he asked.

"We're childhood friends. Since you want to meet him, he's right here."

"Right… where?" Oz blinked, looking around.

"Here!" she pointed behind us. We all then turned around and gasped, surprised to see a creepy round-shaped figure hanging from the ceiling.

"O-Oz!" Gil said. "Look behind you!"

"Hm?"

A very deviant, round-shaped "person" stomped his feet against the ceiling, tossing his black hat around while playing with his moustache. I twitched – that was creepy.

"What the hell is that?_!_" Gil said with a freaked out expression, trying to make sure if what he saw was real or not.

Really, what the hell _was_ that?

"Uh... are you Duke Barma?" Oz asked, keeping his cool.

I noticed Reim facepalm. I guess this guy really _did_ have issues and this _was_ indeed normal. I turned back to take a look at that red-haired man from earlier, who still hadn't spoken a word.

"Indeed I am! You're such an uninteresting kid. Usually, when people see me hanging from the ceiling like this, they get all confused."

"Uh… sorry if I've-"

"I know, I know!" he screeched. "You accept everything you see as the way things are, don't you?"

"Eh?" I asked him in Oz's place. "How do you know that? You're creepy to the extreme."

"I know everything ," Barma stated, laughing uncontrollably while admiring his own genius. "You're in love with the Hatter but too afraid to admit it! How pathetic!"

My mouth dropped open. "What did you say?_!_ How the hell can you claim to know something that even _I_ don't know?"

"You!" he pointed to Gilbert, ignoring me completely. "You tried to quit smoking eight times but failed!"

Gil freaked out in a similar fashion to me. "How did you…?_!_"

Surprisingly enough, Barma didn't say a word to Break during this interval.

"Please," Oz asked. "Is it possible for us to request some information about a certain event? We've been searching for a long time, and…" he took a pause. "I think it's time we found out the truth."

"I refuse," Barma said without hesitation, sitting on the ceiling while drinking tea from his hat. "I do not impart my wisdom to all who seek it; you need to pay the price. Tell me something I don't already know!"

"Uh…" Oz said. "I don't really-"

"Why do you want to know the truth, anyway?" Barma questioned, staring at Oz with his ominous doll-like eyes. "I know that, as well! You want to know what crime the Baskervilles sentenced you for, don't you?"

"D-Duke Barma, is it really necessary to-" Reim began, adjusting his glasses in nervousness.

"Silence!" he commanded, making the brown-haired man flinch in fright.

"Don't worry about it, Reim-san," Oz reassured, taking a deep breath and turning back to the bouncing human. "Up until now, I've constantly been hurting those around me without realizing. But now, I want to turn an eye inward and think for myself… I want to find something I can do for the sake of those important to me." The blond smiled, happily finishing his sentence.

I wasn't sure what the heck happened here, but Barma started bouncing all over the place.

"Ruf goes nuts when he finds out something unexpected…" Cheryl near-giggled, bringing a hand to her mouth. "He'll recover after a while."

"I don't even know how to explain this anymore…" I backed away uncomfortably. He bounced past me, making my hair spike upwards in fright. "Get away, you creep!" I shooed him away, only making him angrier. He made some kind of noise I couldn't comprehend and flew onto another balcony, Oz and Alice taking chase after him.

I hurriedly walked over to where Break was standing, Gil following closely behind. The two stared at the area three balconies down to the right, where Barma had fallen. They watched their two companions talk and resent against Barma's measures. Unfortunately, it was a little difficult to hear what they were saying, as we weren't too close to each other.

Eventually, Alice caved in and grabbed the ball of rubber, tossing him downwards onto the audience of stone. My eyes widened.

"Oh, Alice is pretty strong. Now that I think about it, I've never seen her battle…" I thought. Break merely smirked, turning over to Gilbert, who was watching with surprise.

"Are you scared?" he asked, causing the black-haired man to regain his focus. "That Oz is changing and you may be left behind?"

Gil said nothing and merely looked straight ahead, disappointment washing over his core.

"I wouldn't worry about that," I filled in the gap of silence. "Oz isn't the type to do that. Anyways, let's go and see what happened to Barma."

It felt nice to be the one giving commands for once, especially when the two nodded and went with my idea. We ran back through the area we came from and ran down the stairs, with me taking the lead. We couldn't help but watch with anticipation as we all made it, watching Barma continuously roll around like a baby. It was one weird sight.

Break, tired of this whole fiasco, walked up to the man lying upside down on the floor while balancing most of his weight on his cane.

"Duke Barma," Break said with a grim tone. "After all those times you rejected my request to meet with you, you suddenly decide to extend an invitation to me as well. It's me you're after, isn't it…?"

I swallowed. At that moment, Barma got up off of the floor and placed his hat back onto his head.

"After all," Break continued. "You said if we wanted information, we needed to pay the price. There _is _one piece of information I have that may interest you… you've investigated my past, correct?" Break's mouth formed a malicious smile.

"Ahh… you've finally hit upon it," Barma said with excitement, closing in to Break. "Red-Eyed Ghost… Kevin Regnard!"

"_Red-Eyed… what?"_

"Show yourself already, Rufus Barma!" Break slammed his cane down against the floor, summoning Mad Hatter. The humans made of stone deteriorated from the power of the monstrous chain, as well as the round-shaped Duke; even Cheryl disintegrated. Everyone remained silent as the entire group of people fully disappeared.

"Someone's there," I said, eyeing a human sitting in one of the seats with a calm composure. "This one looks like a real person."

"Goodness. The illusion I spent so much time on is wasted. Such a despicable power you wield, Hatter," the same red-haired man from earlier said, leaning his head on his knee. I had to admit – now that I got a better look and even heard him speak – he wasn't that bad-looking.

"Is that the real Duke Barma…?" I asked, turning to Break. "What did he mean, Red-Eyed Ghost..? Was that what you were known as before I met you?" I gave him a hard stare.

"Indeed it is," Break gave a pitiful smile when turning to look over at me. "Please don't give me that stare, Alva-san. It hurts to look at."

"Oh? Since when did the murderer care about other individuals?"

"Murderer? Break, you really need to tell me these things-"

Before I could say any more, Break began coughing up blood. Mad Hatter's power had been taking its toll on him; I nearly freaked, running up to help him balance himself properly. He clutched his mouth in pain.

"Serves you right for using your power so indiscriminately. You are correct, however; I do wish to obtain some information from you. First, let me see 'it'," Barma stated, advancing to Break with his enormous fan sitting strongly in his firm grasp.

By now, the tug at my stomach was getting far more powerful. I held back the urge to throw up.

Reim could no longer take the damage being done and jumped in front of Break, planning on shielding the sickly man.

"Rufus-sama, please don't do this. Xerxes is ill-"

Barma, however, attacked the man without any mercy by slashing his forehead, causing Reim to start bleeding. He winced, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, you did _not_ just do that-" I began.

"Do you really believe his age is showing as a result of his contract?" Barma questioned. "That's not it. It's actually because…" He ran up to Break, slicing the clothing covering his heart area to reveal an illegal contractor seal. "…it's his second time, right?"

We all froze.

"_Break was an illegal contractor…?"_ I told myself with shock. "_Even so…_ _I can't sit around watching this… I don't want Break to be hurt anymore..."_

Break finally caved in and took one look at me before collapsing onto Reim, who caught him just in time.

"Reim-san… do you know about his seal?" Barma asked him. Reim merely stared at the ground with wide eyes.

"No… no… I didn't…"

Barma withdrew his metallic fan and backed away, quite satisfied that Break was knocked unconscious. I gritted my teeth; looks were _definitely_ the only thing this guy had going for him.

"I assume you don't know the story about the Red-Eyed Ghost… or Kevin Regnard."

Everyone remained silent, including me. Even though I had to bottle up my desire to kill this guy, I wanted to know about Break more than I wanted to kill Barma.

"Fifty years ago…"

I sighed. Here we go.

"…there was an illegal contractor wandering the streets every night, sacrificing people to his chain. He was feared for his inhuman-looking red eyes. He was known as the Red-Eyed Phantom. He threw one hundred and sixteen people into the Abyss without hesitation… my grandfather tried to kill him, but the attempts were in vain."

I froze. The Abyss? I had very vague memories of that area, but I know I've been there at least once… it seemed too familiar. Pictures that I didn't remember kept coming into my head and I held it down in frustration.

Barma darted a look towards me and continued,

"Rather than arresting him, I'm looking more for information. There's a space from the time he entered the Abyss and the time he returned – that's what I'm looking for. I believe he may have fallen to the deepest levels of the Abyss and met with the Intention of the Abyss."

I started feeling really sick. I didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like whenever the Mad Hatter was called, Lucifer tugged at my very soul.

Everything went in fast-forward from then on.

Time passed. Everyone scrambled to sit down except for Barma. He calmly moved over closer to us, waving his fan around like he was hot shit – pardon my language. It irritated me to no end. I sat down against the nearby chair and placed Break's head on my lap. Reim was far too exhausted to hold onto him any longer and the least I could do was volunteer.

"Break…" I held the white-haired man in my arms, gently placing his own long, black coat over his body. On the upside, Barma had decided to cease his attacks and allow us to regain our strength before having a conversation. On the downside, we were unable to leave this same opera room, meaning Break had to deal with lying on a hard, wooden surface. I felt sorry for him.

"I hope you wake up soon," I added.

Luckily for me, my request was granted, as Break's eyes slowly opened up at that very moment. He rubbed his forehead in pain, wondering whose warm body he had been leaning on. Oz and Gil were hovering above my shoulder, also worried about the Hatter. That was new.

"Hello, Alva-san~" he waved as if nothing had ever happened. "Good morning!"

"What?" I said as my eyebrow twitched. "It's night time."

"I know, I know~" Break pulled himself up slowly, the warm black coat sliding off of him. "By the way, Alva-san…"

"What is it?"

"Your cushions felt nice."

"…what the _heck_ are you _on_?"

"On you, obviously," he laughed. "Seeing you fall for these things this easily makes my day so much better. Ah, that's right… I just remembered… I was in that stupid duke's place, wasn't I?"

"Who's a stupid duke?" Barma questioned, sitting idly less than five feet away from Break. "You have a sick sense of humor."

"Ah, pardon me. I meant to say 'duke with stupid hair'," Break sneered. This got Barma quite irritated, but he kept his cool and did not give a response to Break's rude remark.

Reim, who had been resting on a seat nearby with his forehead neatly bandaged courtesy of yours truly, walked up to the white-haired man and picked up his coat for him, forcefully shoving the long black attire into his hands. He blushed slightly, telling Break not to worry him like this.

Break put a hand to his illegal contractor seal, looking down onto it with an expression of regret. Barma pointed his fan at the man dressed in black, smiling contently.

"You should thank me, Hatter. Now you won't have to waste time explaining and can continue where you left off."

"Break, you can't-"

He cut me off by placing his finger on my lips.

"Do not worry," he said almost huskily, sending shivers down my spine. "The things I'll be talking about now are related to all of you. If you all regret hearing them later on, then just… come and hate me."

He spoke of everything – running into the Intention of the Abyss was the reason for losing his left eye, and it was now in possession of the Cheshire cat. Apparently, Vincent had also appeared in the deepest level of the Abyss, revealing Jack Vessalius' death and causing the Will of the Abyss', or Alice's, outrage. Break had begged the girl in white to change the past for him, and after a short while of convincing, she agreed. However, she would only accept the offer if Break did something for her in exchange…

Barma, being a man who did not allow himself to go without thanking someone, shared some information of his own with the group in return. I started finding it hard to pay attention when he began talking. I then suddenly felt the urge to intervene.

"Do you know anything abo-"

"Of course I do. I'd be a disgrace if I did not know about your past and what happened to you," Barma replied without letting me finish my sentence. He slowly turned his head around to face me.

"Then please tell me more info!" I yelled.

"Unfortunately, I will have to deny that request. I have already told you more than my fair share's worth of information. Hatter, you should spend some time to discipline this brusque girlfriend of yours."

"I think I found something wrong with your information," I said in annoyance and pointed to Break as if he were a freak. "This guy isn't my boyfriend."

"Are you sure about that?" he smirked. "Learn to hold your tongue, woman."

This irritated Break. The red-haired duke, however, ignored Break's agitated glare and walked over to me, looking down onto my small figure while sharply holding onto his large, metallic fan.

"It would greatly benefit Pandora if you handed yourself over to me. I'd love to wring out as much information as possible out of you, as you are the one I'm most interested in studying," the duke stated. "That would also go for you, Kevin Regnard: you still haven't told me everything you know. Remember that your name has not been forgotten… if Pandora were to find out, you'd be thrown into court immediately."

Barma grabbed both of my wrists, shoving me down into an audience seat nearby. He was on top of me in an almost uncomfortable fashion; I tried to squirm free, but of course, his physical strength was greater than mine.

Break stood up from his seat in a split second. He pulled out his sword and slashed away at the red-haired man to separate him from me. Barma moved back, aiming to avoid being within reaching distance of the sharp blade.

"It seems this woman's rudeness has rubbed off on you, Hatter. However, I will not let you refuse my request." He extended his fan before him, preparing to launch an attack.

"If anything were to have happened to Alva-san, you would have been as good as dead," Break said, a frightening tone in his voice. I felt my eyes go wide – I've never seen him talk this way before.

"Hmph," he said through a smirk. "There's also this woman…" he spoke and looked at Alice. "All of you will need to be studied, so I demand you hand yourselves over." As he prepared to walk towards Break, Oz walked forward to prevent the man from getting any closer.

"Move, Vessalius," Barma commanded.

"You tick me off," Oz admitted. "If you want, I'll gladly summon Jack and use his words against you."

"You'd abuse the name of a hero? You're a pathetic brat…"

"That's right, I am pathetic! But I'd do anything to protect my friends!"

Barma reached for his fan. "Why you-"

Before he could make contact with Oz, a fan went flying from the side and crashed into the wall. I swallowed, looking at the damage and then turned around to see the source: it was Cheryl. Upon closer inspection, I noticed the fan had a cute teddy bear toy attached to it.

This time, an unfamiliar man had reeled Cheryl over to us. I backed away, assuming this was another illusion.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm quite real," she immediately reassured. "This momentum isn't too bad~~"

Barma's mouth dropped open as he looked over to the woman.

"Cheryl?_!_"

"Ohoho… Ruf, you've been playing pranks again? Always bullying the kids from my house…"

"N-No, this is…"

Break sighed, interrupting their conversation while putting his black coat back on.

"Excuse me, Cheryl-sama?" he stated.

"What is it, Break?" she replied with a glint in her eye, which frightened Barma and nearly made him choke on air. He made an X with his arms as if he were begging Break not to say anything.

"This guy even created an illusion of you to fool us with-"

Barma immediately freaked and his hair spiked upwards like a cat's fur.

"Is that so? Ruf, I told you never to make illusions of me. Is it the contract? Did your brain stop growing along with your body?"

"Um, Cheryl-sama, I can explain…!" Reim began, reaching for the two. Cheryl ignored the boy and proceeded to beat the crud out of Barma. I held in my laughter. Reim was in total panic, cleaning his glasses with his mouth agape.

The two disappeared with a prompt goodbye, Cheryl dragging a beaten Barma into the depths of the opera house. I leaned back against the seat behind me, taking a few deep breaths. I really don't see myself waking up early tomorrow. I looked around and noticed Oz and Alice talking about food, while Gil had pulled out a cigarette. Break seemed to have been preparing to leave, though. The uncanny man took one final look at the group before getting up and proceeding to head for the exit.

"Break." Oz stopped him. "Thanks for telling us."

He turned away, hair covering his only eye.

"You don't have to thank me, it's not like I've told you everything yet. I'm an illegal contractor, so-"

"So?" Oz cut him off, determination completely taking over his persona. "You're the one that said we're just using each other, Break. What does your past have to do with that? And there's someone here who will care about you no matter what crimes you'd committed."

He slowly turned to look at me. I was only half-listening since I was so exhausted.

"That's right, you clown," Alice suddenly jumped up, hearing a line that triggered something in her head. "We're friends!" With that, the group of three grabbed Break affectionately, Gil not looking too happy about having to do something like this. Break blinked and I looked up from my position.

"Let me get one thing straight…" he said with confusion. "This whole friends thing annoys the heck out of me."

They all hugged like morons for a little while longer. Poor Break tried to break free but was unsuccessful.

"I'm not very happy with Gilbert hugging me… or the rest of you," he sighed.

"Not even me?" I teased.

"I'll have to get back to you on that."

Gil heaved a long sigh, glaring at Break with disappointment. Break blinked back in confusion.

"What is it, Gilbert? Don't force yourself to hug me if you don't want to."

"That's… not it," the man began. "I'm just disappointed, Break. I've known you for ten years and you never told me anything! I've been by your side for so long, yet you still can't trust me…! Also, I'm kinda somewhat shocked, too…"

Break and Oz evilly grinned.

"He's so useless! Trusting Gil would be totally useless!"

"Huh? I'll have you know I'm 5cm taller than you!" Gil spat.

"5cm…?" Break twitched and neared Gil so their foreheads were touching. "It's actually **4.5cm**..!"

"You guys are too mean to Gil," I said.

"So you don't think he's useless?" Break and Oz pried up to me as they spoke in unison. I laughed.

"Nope."

"Alva-san…!" Gil smiled widely. "So that means-"

"He's more than useless."

And then Gil cried.

I could have sworn I saw the smallest smile tug at Break's lips despite our bickering. Was he… happy?

"Um, everyone…" Reim interrupted us all. "Please accept my apologies. I didn't think things would turn out like this…"

"Don't worry, Reim-san," Oz did the honors. "It wasn't your fault."

"I-If you say so, Oz-sama. It's about time you all go, so I'll prepare a carriage for you. Again, please accept my deepest apologies…" Reim shuffled around nervously. I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, making sure he saw my big grin.

"Oz says it's all right, so it's all right. Thanks, Reim."

He blushed and nodded, heading for the exit while we wanted in silence. In a matter of moments, he returned with an announcement: our carriage was ready. We quietly made our way to the proper destination, getting inside and being driven away as Reim waved us off.

"I suddenly feel so relieved!" I threw my arms into the air, accidentally hitting the ceiling of the carriage. "Woops."

"I'd assume so~" Break said, going back to his usual attitude now that Barma was no longer around. "You endured a lot today, Alva-san. How about you get some sleep? It'll be a while before we get to the Rainsworth mansion."

"Oh, I really do need it," I said, smiling at Break. "Hmm, who should be my pillow today?"

Break raised his hand right away.

"You're suddenly very enthusiastic," I spoke. "What's with you?"

"I think Break is hiding something." Oz crossed his arms, giving a devilish smile. Gil sweatdropped from Oz's behavior and Alice did nothing but stare out the window, ignoring us completely.

"Something like that should stay between Alva-san and myself," Break retorted.

"Alva-chan and you? Did you just admit it?" Oz gasped, pointing to Break's face with surprise. "Gil, did you hear what he said?"

"I didn't say anything~" Break faked innocence, laughing. "You're misunderstanding, Oz-kun."

I laughed, leaning on Break's shoulder while closing my eyes. I didn't know why, but hearing these two argue was like music to my ears. Before I knew it, I had fallen completely asleep.

. . .

. . .

"Alva-san," someone shook my shoulder. "Please wake up. You've been asleep for quite a while now," the voice said.

My eyes slowly opened halfway and I pulled myself up gently, eyeing my surroundings. Things seemed… different. Wasn't I just sleeping in the carriage or something?

"I…"

"What is it, Alva-san?"

"Where am I?"

"You're in your room. It didn't feel right waking you up when we got to the mansion, so I carried you here~" he laughed.

"Oh…" I said, noticing I had been lying on a bed with Break sitting at the edge right next to me. "How interesting…" I slurred.

Break was a little confused and looked me straight in the eyes, heaving a sigh. He smiled, laying my back down onto the large, rectangle-shaped bed. I wasn't feeling very well. The moment his hands touched me to lay me down, I seriously lost it.

"It's best if you didn't sleepwalk."

"I'm not sleepwalking!" I countered, twisting and turning while trying to fall back asleep, nearly knocking down the bed sheets I was using to cover myself with.

I then grabbed onto Break's shoulders and pulled him down so our faces were less than two inches apart. "Break, kiss me!"

"Eh..?" Break spoke, confused about the request. "Alva-san, you're quite the sleepwalker."

I ignored him and instead stared into Break's face, suddenly "mesmerized by his charms." My eyes were still half-closed and I was ninety-five percent unconscious.

"If you don't do it…" I said in a drunk-sounding voice. "…I'll be sad."

"If that's the case, I don't have a choice, do I?" he smiled, pushing his face down and allowing his lips to meet mine. As soon as it happened, I felt like I was dancing through Wonderland; it was nothing less than pure magic. My arms unconsciously snaked around his neck as his right arm gently pushed the back of my face up to deepen our kiss, his other arm moving down to my waist. He was lying on top of me in such a fashion that I could feel his whole body through his clothing.

Slowly, my consciousness started returning to my body.

"_Wait…"_ I started, eyes still half-closed. _"O-Oh my god… wha-"_

The sensation made my eyes quickly shoot open; I was confused as _heck_ about what was going on. It took me a moment to notice what was going on due to just having awakened. The feeling of the kiss had left me far too entranced and I didn't want it to be over so quickly.

As soon as Break prepared to pull away, I found myself now fully conscious and completely frozen in my position, shaking in shock.

"Alva-san..?" Break questioned, wondering what had just happened to me.

"_What_?_!_" I finally screamed out, tugging my hair with widened eyes. "I.. I… you.." I shook, unable to fully swallow what had just happened.

Break laughed while waving his hand around, still wearing the same black clothing from earlier. "Your eyes are not deceiving you, Alva-san~"

"That... that…" I stuttered.

"You're saying you've never done this before?" he smirked.

"No, I haven't," my voice cracked. "Wait! You have?"

"Hmm," Break mumbled, tilting his head to look out the window. "Only to a certain someone, in my dreams. But that doesn't count, does it~?"

"Tell me!" I freaked, throwing my arms into the air.

"Oho," Break replied. "I didn't know you were the jealous type. Let me say there's no need to worry~" he reassured, waving his hands around with a ridiculously large grin on his face.

"That doesn't help, Break…" I mumbled, looking down onto my lap while still lying in bed. "Why did you… k-kiss me, anyway?"

"Because you would have been sad if I didn't."


	10. Scroll X

The Rainsworth mansion hallways were always a little quiet. I got used to the silence – in fact, I loved it – but today, something was a little off.

Scratch that, very off.

The halls were more packed with servants and maids than usual. It wasn't jam-packed or anything, but the change was definitely noticeable; we went from zero maids visible in hallways to one or two wherever you turn. I wondered… were they preparing for something?

As I walked through the hallway, I noticed a single room with its door ajar, light emanating from the inside. I couldn't resist the urge to peek in.

Someone stood near the window, peering out into the beginnings of a sunrise. I attempted to silently push the entryway without being heard, engrossed in the scenery and itching to get closer. However, being the unsuccessful ninja I was, the door creaked when being pushed open and therefore gave away my location. He turned around confusedly.

"Break…" I mumbled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

"Good morning, Alva-san. I'm quite surprised you're up this early," Break laughed, waving happily to me while making his way to the closet. Silence engrossed the room as the white-haired hatter picked up his usual long, white coat.

It took me a little while to digest that I'd almost never seen him without that coat or some other exterior covering. Break wore his usual attire so often to the point where it was peculiar to see him in anything but.

"What's with this awkward silence?" Break spoke, holding his coat in his hands. "You may come in if you wish~"

I did as Break told me, deciding against sitting down onto his bed as I had just barely gotten up off of my own.

"Ojou-sama decided to give me today off, so I've got the entire day to myself," stated the uncanny man. "And I've already got an idea on what I want to do~"

I blinked.

"Are you going to tell Gil that Oz has been talking about him behind his back? Maybe hang meat on a stick and hold it in front of Alice while running? Tell Oz that Sharon will never be his girlfriend? Ditch Sharon for a day? Tell me you hate me? Replace Emily with another doll?"

"Those are some wonderful ideas…" he smirked. "But the truth is, I have been feeling quite pitiful over letting you get into so many problems, Alva-san," Break said while forcefully opening a box of chocolate and taking his time to pick out the best one. "So how would you like to accompany me while we look around the city? Who knows, if you're lucky, I may buy you some chocolate~"

I laughed at Break's love for being indirect.

"Why don't you just say you want to go on a date? You're never straight with people," I sighed.

"I'm being as straight as a ruler, Alva-san," he said as he flapped his sleeve, finally deciding on a piece of chocolate and tossing it into his mouth. "I would quite enjoy your company on this otherwise boring day. And don't misunderstand – this isn't a date. I am in no way infatuated with you."

"Oh, really…? Then what about that time you kissed me?"

He crossed his arms and pouted. "You asked me to."

"You'd best be careful, Break may do something naughty!" Emily chipped in, practically bouncing up and down on Break's shoulder. Although he still kept his trademark smile, he popped a vein.

"Now, Emily…"

I sweatdropped, expecting this type of response from Emily. The doll had become increasingly stubborn, only speaking up to either abuse her own master or to be mean to those around her. I wonder if Break intended for her mouth to work that way…?

"Since I'm… uh, bored. Yeah, bored, I guess I'll say yes to your request," I coughed into my hand. "When do we head out?"

"Mm," Break mumbled. "I'm quite all right with any time~" he laughed, devouring whatever chocolate was left inside the box.

"I did not expect this sort of excitement from you... are you all right?" I asked.

"You needn't worry. I'm just excited about all the things I'll be able to do to you~" he laughed naughtily.

"…you need to get laid," I jokingly scoffed. I was almost surprised that came out of my mouth.

"So you're fine with me 'getting laid' with someone besides you? Interesting…"

"Shut your face!" I yelled, turning beet red. "I'll go get dressed, so meet me outside the mansion in twenty minutes."

He waved me off, signaling that I had his approval. I carelessly waved back to him, quietly walking out of the room and heading for my own. I was lucky Break's room wasn't too far off from mine – when I got there, I immediately headed for the closet. This was a good time to leave the mansion as I had already eaten breakfast and lunch; knowing this, my excitement built up even more.

Shockingly, it took me less than fifteen minutes to get dressed. I didn't like the color red, but others have said it looked good on me, so…

"You're late, Break," I said in a slightly irritated tone, shooting him a dirty look. "….and you're wearing the exact same thing you always do. How could it have taken you this long if you didn't even change?"

"My apologies, Alva-san. I got a little distracted~" he spoke, pulling out some cookies out of his pocket, colorful rainbow flags popping out along with them. I sweatdropped.

"Now I know why Alice calls him a clown…" I mumbled to myself as he took the lead. We were now setting off for the depths of the city and boy was I excited!

The walk took a while. To get to the city, we had to cross a forest – it was slightly eerie, making me wonder how it'd be if we were to visit this area again at night. Break watched me from time to time like the pervert he was. Once we got to the city, I nearly felt compelled to smile for no reason – everyone seemed so happy and it was far too contagious.

"Alva-san?" Break questioned with his mouth full, examining my immense grin. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, slapping myself gently. "It's just nice to see everyone so happy around here."

Break sneered.

"I suppose that's how it is~"

He stuck a hand into his pocket, getting ready to pull some more cookies out. Much to his dismay, it seemed like he had been fresh out. A dreary look crept onto the hatter's face but he quickly got over it; he did, after all, have easy access to any sweet he'd ever have cravings for just from being amidst the main shopping center in the city.

"So where are you taking me?" I finally questioned, realizing I had absolutely no idea what Break was planning to do. "You invited me, after all."

"To bed," he laughed, as cheerful as ever.

"You're really hitting on me, aren't you," I said in an astonished tone.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Break began. "I only do things for myself. Besides, seeing your reactions is more than enough to bring this old man entertainment."

"Can you go a day without saying that?"

"Maaaaybe."

I sighed, closing my eyes to think for a second. Break seemed to avoid saying things directly and either left the deciphering for others to figure out or went off on a totally different tangent, merely hinting about what he felt. Was he really just using me, or did he actually care about me? Sometimes it was too difficult to tell.

My mind wandered deeper into the forest of mystery. Was Break only getting close to me so I'd reveal more info on Lucifer and my past? Finding out such info was his job as a Pandora member. This whole thing was making me feel drained and disappointed, so I quickly shook my head to rid it of such thoughts.

When I opened my eyes, something was off…. Break wasn't here. I looked around, screaming Break's name in annoyance. This so-called "date" had already gone wrong. Break wasn't a good escort.

I turned around and heaved a sigh of relief; Break was only a few meters away, staring through the glass of a sweets shop. I made my way over to him, examining the shop and trying to find out what had been amazing enough to stop his trail of thought.

"Come on, Break. You just had sweets." I tugged at his sleeve. I tried my best to dress as nice yet as simple as I could; it would be easier on me if people didn't assume I was dating. I had been considerably bad when it came to romantic publicity – after all, this would count as my first date.

Break snapped out of his sweets-lover phase, turning to me and shooting me a slightly disappointed look.

"Oh," he began. "Do you not like me~? You don't seem too enthusiastic about accompanying me during shopping." His voice was a little more serious this time, which made me feel slightly guilty.

"_Shopping? So the story changed again?" _I reminisced about what he said just an hour ago.

"No. That's not it… I didn't mean to upset you, Break," I began, looking down onto the hard, cement-coated surface underneath my feet. The ground was unbelievably clean for a city. "I'm just a little confused about my feelings."

This got Break curious.

"Oh~? Your feelings?"

He inched his face closer to mine just as he had done a few times before.

I twitched and inched away from the uncanny man, bumping against the wall of a building. Great… Break succeeded in cornering me.

"B-Break…" I whispered shyly. "People are staring, don't do that, idiot!"

"The opinions of others shouldn't be of any importance," he continued. "But I suppose since I'm a gentleman, I'll let you go~"

"_I seriously think he's doing this just to further fuel my feelings for him. That way I won't be able to hold it in anymore and let him hear what he wants to hear,"_ I thought uneasily, wondering why he'd become such a nuisance recently. _"But in a way, all these instances… I don't really mind them."_

"Ojou-sama will be angry if I don't get the shopping done for tomorrow…" Break headed off into the proper direction again, messing with his doll with an eager smile plastered his face. "And an angry ojou-sama is not something that's pleasant." That statement made him drop his smile for just a tiny bit.

"So you were actually serious when you spoke of shopping?" I asked, walking through the small crowd of people while eyeing my surroundings. One thing I noticed was that this city had an abundance of crows, which to me, was somewhat strange. Didn't they usually symbolize bad luck?

"Mm, of course, Alva-san," he said innocently. "Why would I lie to you? There's a festival at Reveille tomorrow and I have a duty to buy some much-needed ingredients."

"A festival..? You told me you were free today!"

"I lied," he said bluntly. "I just wanted some company as doing this solo is frightfully boring. And on the contrary, in a way, I'm always free. I'm sure you've noticed, but I don't actually 'work' that often."

Boy, sure wish I predicted this.

During our chatter, we passed a small store sitting in the corner of a street, its attractive green coloring catching my eye right away.

"Hey, Break, isn't that the store Sharon likes?"

"Mm, you seem to be correct. Ojou-sama does a lot of her shopping here," he said. "I suppose I'll do my shopping here as well, then~" Break opened the store window and climbed inside, completely ignoring the door. I heard the salesperson behind the register scream.

"Oh god! Thief! Get out and leave my store alone!" said the voice of an older-aged female. A broom flew out the window with a few tomatoes following closely behind.

I raised a brow.

"Good morning," I heard Break say from inside, easily avoiding what had been thrown at him. "I'm here to buy some things, miss."

"…oh!" The woman replied. I heard a thump, as if she dropped whatever she wanted to throw next. "Xerxes-kun! I should've known it was you. You're the only one who'd give me such a weird entrance."

"Well…" I spoke, eyeing the window. "Looks like everything's good here, so I'll sit down."

I made my way over to a nearby bench and took a seat, leaning back as I stared into the sky. My hand dropped to my side and I started feeling very, very drowsy.

And then it hit me.

Such a bothersome feeling coming out of nowhere could only be Lucifer's doing. I just didn't understand why it happened so randomly when I hadn't even _used_ my chain in a while.

"Nnnnngh…" I moaned, lying down and making myself as comfortable as I could. "This is such bad timing."

After about ten more minutes of suffering, Break made his way out of the store. I perked up, noticing he had just one small bag with him. It took ten minutes just for _that_?

"Alva-saaaan~" Break called for me, noticing my crouching position. "You seem a little down!" he sang.

"Obviously," I forced myself to sit up, trying to make sure he didn't notice my sickness. The last thing I wanted was for Break to carry me back to the mansion and go back into the city to shop by himself. He had, after all, admitted to wanting my company during this trip.

"It won't do you good to push yourself," he sighed as he touched my forehead, causing just the slightest blush to tinge my facial features. "It's obvious something is wrong."

I blinked. Before I knew it, Break lifted me up bridal and style and went along the same path we were previously walking on, except… he wasn't headed for the mansion.

"Break, where the _hell_ are you taking me?"

As he went along the small cobblestone path, Break turned left on the next alleyway and diverted off the previous course. Within moments, he arrived at a quiet area with a small lake sitting right in the middle of a beautiful garden.

"Where are we…?" I said with a hoarse tone. "This place seems kind of familiar…"

"You recognize it?" Break asked. "This is one of the places you took me to many years back…" his voice became gloomy, staring off into the beautiful lake.

I tried to speak up, but felt a hand reach up for my left breast… or that was what it felt like. I shrieked.

"Hey!" I called out, pushing his hand away. "Ask first!"

Break put a sleeve to his mouth, faking sadness. The wind gently blew on his hair, causing the scene to look even more dramatic. I sighed at the timing, pretending to be immune to his ridiculously good-looks.

"Don't give me that," I said, pulling down the upper portion of my dress to take a look at the seal myself. "This is too embarrassing, so I'll do it myself. You better not look. Go away for a while."

I turned around so my back faced Break, arching my head to give him a glare, which caused him to back away.

"_Crap… it moved,"_ I sucked my teeth. _"I can't let him find out."_

"Alva-san, the seal…?" he asked, pensive expression lingering on his face.

"It didn't move," I white-lied, hoping he'd buy it. "Maybe it's because I'm not used to such a big crowd since it's been a while."

"Mmm," Break muttered. "I see. I am in no position to invade your personal space at the moment, so I will have to confirm that sometime later."

"At the moment?" My eye twitched. "You shouldn't be invading my personal space _period_!"

"When it's for the good of Pandora, I am required to take such actions," he sang happily. I smiled, glad he finally reverted back to his usual self. I was broken out of my phase by a sudden noise, making me quickly arch my head towards the lake.

A woman and a man were inside a rowing boat, staring at each other romantically as they pedaled across the calm creek.

"…that's cute," I admitted, dreamily watching as my head rested in the palm of my hands. I was feeling better already.

"Nonsense," Break replied, pulling me closer to him. "Now this is 'cute'… or so you and ojou-sama would say."

"Aww, Break said the word 'cute'."

"I am not much of a fan of such girly words…" he admitted.

I laughed at his attempt to satisfy me and leaned my head on his neck. I could feel his grip around me tighten; I had to admit, I don't remember ever feeling this happy.

Suddenly, a woman's frightened scream was heard, startling even the birds that were nesting in the trees.

I jumped up, staring off into the direction of the yell. I noticed dusty clouds hovering above an area further into the city.

"Break, I'm going to go look!"

I didn't even wait for his confirmation – instead, I merely ran. I heard footsteps behind me, so I assumed Break had decided to tag along, too.

When we arrived, we noticed a group of people crowding around a building – I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but I assumed the building was on fire and on the verge of collapsing.

I pushed through the abundance of people crowding around the building, coming face-to-face with a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She looked at me with tears streaming down her face; those red eyes frightened me. I had no idea if Break followed me this far, but that wasn't important right now.

"Miss, what's wrong?" I spoke, shaking the woman by her shoulder.

"Our house..! It's collapsing and at the worst time," the woman exclaimed, grabbing me by the shoulders. "We were just preparing to pack our things and move out since we were told the building was too old and would need to be demolished soon. My son is still stuck in there… please, please help me! My life is nothing without my Matthew!"

I froze. A child stuck in a burning house? I held my mouth to keep myself from throwing up. I looked at the inferno-engulfed house and then back at the woman, whose eyes were pleading for help. Deciding to get over my fear, I gave her a brave nod.

"I'll…" I took a deep breath. "…go in and get your son for you."

"Oh, please, please, help him!"

Slowly making my way inside the building, I noticed it had been almost completely destroyed on the inside. I heard the cries of a child coming from upstairs and proceeded to make my way up the near-demolished stairs. As soon as my foot stepped on the first level of the squeaky, wooden steps, the entrance that I had used to enter the building caved in on itself, blocking the main way of escape.

"Shiiiit…."

I began to panic, trying my best to ignore the now-sealed exit and slowly climbed up the stairs. Moving too fast would do no good, as it would put more pressure on the staircase and possibly destroy it. Moving too slow would also do no good, as the building was ready to cave in at any moment.

I turned back for a split second, looking at the sealed exit. There was no way for anyone to come in… and no way for me to come out.

I held my mouth in an attempt to block all the dust hovering in the air, but it wasn't working very well. After nearly five minutes of slow struggling, I finally made my way to the second floor, speeding up just a bit to the area where the cries of a young boy were heard.

He looked at me as I walked up to him, shaking immensely with a never-ending stream of tears flowing down his face.

"It's okay, kid," I said. "We're going to get you out of here."

He stopped sobbing and latched onto me without saying a word. I gave him a pat on the head and picked him up, placing him neatly on my back. He seemed to be only around six years old, but despite that, he was heavy.

"Now…" I whispered. "How am I going to get out of here…"

Narrator's POV:

A silent Break stood outside the tall smoky building, dust still clouding around the area due to the recent collapse. He gripped his cane tightly and looked ahead, trying his best to make sure his calm demeanor stayed present.

"Break!" yelled out a familiar voice. Break turned around, immediately recognizing this boy as Oz Vessalius. He ran up to the white-haired man, leaning down and breathing heavily to replenish his oxygen supply.

"Oz-kun…"

"Break! What's happening? I was out buying some things for tomorrow and then saw the smoke!" he said in a worried tone. "Are you okay?"

"Oh? Ojou-sama made you, one of our guests, go shopping for ingredients? That's very unladylike of the princess." A smile crept onto Break's face and he looked down onto the ground, bangs covering his only eye.

"I volunteered," Oz said abruptly. "Is there… a fire?"

"Isn't that obvious? The building is starting to collapse. It already went through one round and the next is soon to come. Alva-san is inside… trying to save a child." Break stared lifelessly into the building ahead.

Oz's eyes went wide. He lost control of himself and grabbed Break by the collar.

"And you let her in?_!_ How could you let Alva-chan in, Break? What if she dies?_!_"

Break smirked, pushing Oz's hand away.

"You throw yourself into these situations day after day, yet you get angry when someone else does the same?" Break said, sneering. "It seems you do not realize how valuable your life is to those around you."

Oz froze – this statement was far from false. He looked away from Break and at the tall building, praying in his head to whichever God out there that Alva was all right.

Alva's POV:

"Darn it," I said while examining the rooms on the second floor, breathing heavily. It seemed all form of exit had been sealed off. "I don't know where to go…"

"Lady…" the boy whispered through the napkin I gave him to cover his mouth with. "You should try the closet in my room. There is a hole in the wall that my daddy made me, and it's my secret spot! I look through it every day with the telescope." A smile formed on his face, just for a second.

"Okay," I said hastily. "Let's go back to your room, then."

Upon arrival, I immediately smashed open the closet door with no intention of slowing down. The boy was right: there was indeed a hole here. It was barely big enough for my fist to fit through. I looked around the area, itching to find something I could use to pry open this small hole.

Luckily for me, there was a small staircase outside leading to a balcony that I could use to jump onto the next building. This had to be done soon before the fire spread further.

At that moment, I noticed Matthew's telescope lying on the floor.

"Matthew… do you mind if I use your telescope for something? It may break in the process, but… we'll be able to get out of here…"

The boy went silent for a few seconds but then reluctantly agreed. I apologized and grabbed the telescope, putting it through the hole and pushing down in an attempt to crack open the above wall and make it big enough to pass through.

The fire had begun crawling up to the second floor. I finally reached my limit, dropping to my knees and struggling to breathe.

"Lady! Lady!" Matthew cried out, waving his little hands up and down. "I'm scared!"

Suddenly, I felt my heartbeat become rather… painful. I closed my eyes and began coughing uncontrollably.

"I'm so useless that I can't even rescue one boy…?" I seethed. "Damn it!"

As if on cue, a purple-colored aura seeped from within my body, engulfing the room entirely. The boy watched in shock.

"Lucifer!" I screamed out, recognizing this feeling instantly. "I need your help!" I smashed my fist against the floor, which apparently signaled the chain to make its appearance. It looked down upon me, clawed hands sitting firmly on the ground. The only way for me to describe its appearance was a shadow-like monster with claw-looking hands.

I didn't know what happened next, but I think it heard my plea. A purple ball of light surrounded us and at that same moment, the entire flame-covered building collapsed in on itself. I closed my eyes as the collapse fell onto us; I was going to die... it was over.

The next thing I remembered were the sound of crashes, glass shattering, pottery breaking, bookshelves cracking, and other disastrous noises of destruction. I trembled, holding onto Matthew as the sounds slowly subsided. As the destruction was replaced with silence, I quietly opened my eye, wondering why weren't dead. This definitely wasn't possible.

I opened my eyes, baffled at what I was seeing.

The building did cave in on itself, but… we were no longer inside. We hovered overhead in a purple ball of light. I watched with astonishment, as did Matthew, as we gently flew down onto safety.

Once we landed, the light dispersed. The panicking people halted their screams and circled around us, throwing feelings of appreciation and thanks to me. Matthew ran to his mother, throwing his small arms around her neck.

"Oh, Matthew!" she said and turned to look at me. "Thank you much! I can't thank you enough!"

I smiled and nodded, rubbing my head to ease my ever-growing headache. Then I realized I was sitting on something and moved off of it, noticing a broken telescope. I picked it up and showed it to the boy in front of me.

"Matthew… I'm sorry," I said, readying myself for the boy's angry complaints.

He looked at it for a moment, but nothing less than a smile formed on his face. He jumped out from his mother's arms and gave me an embrace.

"I don't mind, lady! You helped mommy and me. Besides, when daddy comes home from work, he'll buy me a new one since my birthday is coming up!"

He threw his arms into the air, flailing them happily. The mother gave one final word of thanks before picking her boy up and heading off to the doctor to have him checked.

"Cheers for the magical mistress!" I heard one man shout.

"_Magical… mistress…?" _

"She must be a contractor!" yelled a woman next to him. Everyone cheered. I twitched, unable to believe this is the nickname they've decided to give me. I blushed and nodded, accepting their praise. The crowd quickly dispersed and began getting to work on cleaning the area.

I blinked as I heard footsteps near me, turning around to see Oz and Break.

"Oz, why are you here?" I asked the boy. He grabbed me by the shoulders and stared at me with a ridiculously-upset looking face.

"Alva-chaaan! I was so worried!" he whined and complained. "But at least you saved the boy… I'm glad."

"I'm still alive, so it's fine… but I didn't think I'd make it, honestly."

"You take extremely foolish risks, Alva-san," said Break in annoyance. "If you're trying to do something like this, at least make sure you have _one_ plan to back you up. You cannot improvise in such a situation."

I looked away uncomfortably. Oz let go of me and backed away slightly.

"That's… none of your business, Break…"

"None of my business?" he narrowed his eyes and closed in on me. I'd be lying if I said I _wasn't_ petrified. His tone was very frightening. "How can you be dumb enough to say this isn't my business…?"

I swallowed, regretting I said anything. Before I could reply, I felt a pain tug at my chest.

"A-Alva-chan!" Oz gasped, reaching for me.

That was the last thing I remembered before I fell unconscious.

LATER:

"Mmm…" I mumbled. "Where am I?"

I lifted myself up and noticed I had been on a hospital bed. It was soft and clean, as was my room. A table stood next to my bed, vase with a single red rose sitting in its center.

"A… rose?"

I looked at the opened door to my left, noticing Break's figure standing behind it. He was talking to someone and didn't look all that pleased. I squeaked in fright and hid under the covers, listening in on the conversation. The effects of his scolding from before were still lingering above me.

"Are you her husband?" I heard the doctor ask.

I went red at what the man asked, covering myself with the bed sheets.

"God… I hope that guy doesn't-"

"Why yes," Break said with a laugh. "We got married last week!"

"_Oh god,"_ I said to myself. _"He's officially insane. Well, not like he wasn't insane before."_

"Oh," responded the doctor. "Well, congratulations! I'm sorry something like this happened to you two so soon."

"_I don't believe it. He bought that."_

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand. From what I've gathered by watching the situation, it seems the girl's body had gone through quite a shock both physically and mentally, thus why it'll be hard for her to walk for a little while. Unfortunately, her right arm is also broken and had to be bandaged up. While she should be good to come out in about a week, I advise you to let her rest a little more afterwards. Plus, there's a mark on her chest that's been bugging me…"

Break was silent.

"Even though I'm a doctor, I am aware of illegal contractors and know what the seal indicates. I will not report this to anyone. At the time of looking, I noticed her seal was one-sixth complete... keep this in mind. That is all I'm able to tell you at the moment," the man spoke. I don't know what happened next, but I heard footsteps disappear into the distance and assumed the man had taken his leave.

I brought a hand to my chest and sighed in relief. The doctor didn't seem to spot me.

"Phew…"

"Oho, so you're awake. Are you all right?" Break asked me, causing me to squeak in fright. I didn't even hear him come over here. I continued hiding behind the bed sheets and ignored him.

He felt around, looking for my face. I blushed and tried to ignore the feeling of his hand brushing against my body.

"Alva-san," he continued. "Please speak to me."

I suddenly felt very guilty for ignoring him in the first place, especially when he was speaking to me this way.

But…

I remembered the event from earlier: Break rarely became that serious. I froze – was I developing a fear of him ever since that incident?

"Judging from your cold body, you're not all right. Since you're awake, I assume you overheard what the doctor said," Break began. "Alva-san, it's not lady-like to lie."

He grabbed the bed sheets and pulled them away from my body, causing me to shriek in fright. I quickly reached for the second pillow lying next to me and gripped tightly onto it.

"Uh…" I said quietly.

His pointer finger moved down my body and stopped on my heart area, exactly above where the seal was located.

I got nervous from the contact, trying not to fidget. I accidentally pushed myself up a bit, causing Break's finger to trail down slightly and reach my left breast.

"Oho, someone is a little naughty tonight~"

"S-Shut up, that was an accident! And sorry about not telling you about my seal," I sighed. "I don't want you all to worry."

"Keeping such information away may lead to regret. Besides, Break would prefer it if you told him~" Break sang in third person, crossing his legs comfortably as he sat at the edge of my bed.

"Um…" I looked away.

"Alva-san?" he asked.

"…what?"

"You seem… different."

"N-No… I'm not. You're seeing things."

"I don't believe that's the case."

"Ugh…" I moaned, pulling my pillow into my face and screaming into it. "I just… I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of… you," I admitted.

His eye widened just slightly, staring at me without saying a word.

"I see…"

I was upset that was all he said, but decided that there was no going back since I said what I had to say.

"Break, it's late… you should get going. The food in your bag probably needs to be refrigerated and Sharon will get worried."

"Mm, that would be a good idea, but…" he picked out a random object from his plastic bag, shoving it into my face. "…sweets shouldn't go bad."

I sweatdropped.

"_So he only bought sweets?_!_"_

"But in all seriousness… go back to the mansion. I'm not keeping you here."

He looked at me again. He was definitely not as cheerful at usual.

"Ojou-sama will be quite aggravated if I don't return, so I will take my leave."

I nodded. He turned his back and slowly walked out of the room; I couldn't see his eye on his way out, as his bangs had covered it.

Just like that, he left. Without any teasing, without a better goodbye, without anything.

I looked up at the ceiling, now completely alone with only the sunset to accompany me. I thought about tomorrow for a moment before making a promise to myself.

"No matter what happens, I'll be there at that festival tomorrow…"


	11. Scroll XI

"Are you sure, miss?" asked the carriage driver. I nodded, slowly making my way into the wooden holder.

It took me almost the entire morning and afternoon to persuade the doctor to let me out, claiming that this was too important for me to miss out on. Although I did manage to escape the depths of the hospital, I had an even harder time finding a dress that would live up to the expectations of the ball.

It was a little difficult to walk. I didn't let that stop me, though – I had to be at the festival even if my life depended on it.

The coach had started moving and I stared quietly out the window, watching the hospital get smaller and smaller as the driver sped away. I sighed, tilting my head to the right to lean against the wall of the shaking carriage.

"Just a bit longer…" I reassured myself, my eyebrow twitching.

After a half an hour-long bumpy ride, the carriage came to a full stop. An excited-sounding driver called out from the driver seat, letting me know we had arrived at the destination.

"_Finally…!"_

I slowly made my way out of the carriage. The crowd surrounding me caught me off guard; I was surprised to see so many people. Tables were set up all around and there had to be hundreds of people in just this area alone – it wasn't too difficult to blend in. I looked around this rest spot but found no sign of anyone I knew.

"Miss, it doesn't seem like you came prepared," the driver called out, giving a slight laugh. I raised an eyebrow, looking over to him with a questioning look. "This festival originated from the legend of the blue-winged angel, Belligeron, who fell in love with a human. It is a longtime tradition to wear blue feathers on your dress when attending this yearly event as a way of covering the true identity of said angel."

"Is there… anywhere I can get feathers from?" I asked. All that did was earned me a laugh from the driver.

"You've come to the right place," he reached to the briefcase sitting next to his feet, pulling out six brightly-colored blue feathers. "I happen to have some right here, miss. I am attending this festival as well, so it's a good thing I brought extra, isn't it?"

"Shouldn't you be doing your job as a carriage driver?"

"I wasn't even on duty, but you rushed to me asking if I was available for a drive to the festival, so I agreed to do it since I was on my way here as well," he laughed. "Don't be such a party-pooper!"

"Oh… I guess that's why you were dressed so fancily. Thank you, I appreciate it a lot."

He smirked and jumped off his seat anxiously, dashing towards a nearby food table. I couldn't help but laugh at the man's strangeness.

I took the feathers and quarreled with myself on what the best place for them would be.

Then, I reached for my hair, which gave me an idea. This would be the perfect accessory to use as a clip! I gave a satisfied grin when I placed it in my hair, walking off into the distance to finally explore my first ever festival.

I made a left, nearly bumping into a woman on my way there. As I passed the large staircase that my eyes seemed to miss earlier, I notice a strikingly-beautiful figure light up right before my eyes: standing at an impressive height of 42 feet right in front of a large stairway, the clock was almost calling out to me. Above the clock itself was the statue of a feathered shield.

I sighed, gazing into the mass of silver while watching the time go by.

I nearly fell forward from being so distracted. That fall made me notice something I definitely didn't see earlier. As I spotted the familiar figure, I ran down the stairs.

"Oz, hey!" I called, noticing the blond boy walk by with a female next to him. He blinked and turned around to face me.

"Alva-chan! What are you doing here? You should be resting!" he said with a tone of worry. "But you look really good in that dress."

"Thanks. I'm fine. And besides, I don't want to miss an event as big as this one that only comes around once a year…" I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. "And this girl… isn't she the one from earlier?" I said, recalling Vincent.

He laughed and looked over at the girl next to him.

"Yeah, this is Echo-chan. Echo-chan, this is Alva-chan. She's a really nice girl."

"Just Echo," she corrected. "Hello, Alva-sama. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Oz Vessalius-sama," the female said courteously while showing no signs of emotion.

"Hey there, Echo. It's nice to meet you."

I had to admit, she was a pretty cute girl. Vincent was lucky to have her around.

"Oz, have you seen Break?" I asked curiously. He merely blinked and shook his head no.

"How about Sharon?"

"Haven't seen her, either..."

"Damn…"

"Why not check that big building over there?" The Vessalius heir continued, pointing behind us. "I heard there's lots of cake being served in that building and that's probably the first place Break would go to. Sharon-chan is probably having tea there right now, too."

"You're right." I slapped my forehead, wondering why I didn't bother asking someone about where all the sweets were before. "Thank you! I'll see you two later, then!" I waved, running as fast as my body let me in the direction of the large building.

I quickly scrambled inside through the entrance, making sure I didn't make the mistake of bumping into someone again. The crowd flooded the area, making my mouth drop open. Finding those two here would be _too_ damn difficult.

"This place is huge."

The swamp of people made it harder to get around, but I decided on my next plan. I ran past them and decided to head off to the center of the room, hopefully managing a better view from said position.

"I guess they aren't here…" I looked around with a sigh. Suddenly, as I walked forward, I bumped into someone's table. I bowed to apologize without looking to see who it was; once my eyes opened up again, I was surprised to see who I ran into.

"S-Sharon!" I said with surprise. "I'm so glad I ran into you."

"Oh my! Alva-san! Where were you? Break and I were very worried."

The female placed her cup of tea down onto the table gently, giving me an apprehensive look.

"_Break never told her about what happened?" _I told myself, thanking the heavens for this. If Sharon were to find out, I would get thrown back into the hospital in a heartbeat.

"I'm sorry, I was meeting an… old friend," I white-lied, hoping Sharon would buy that. "Have you seen Break anywhere?"

"Break?"

She placed a hand to her cheek, thinking for a moment.

"He was here just a little while ago. Perhaps it would do you good to check out the roof? Break seems to like that spot and it's where he always goes to wait for the fireworks."

"Ah…" I sighed with relief. "I guess that's where I'll head to."

"Break didn't talk much when he was here. He must have been so lonely without you, it's so romantic," Sharon began, entering her dream world. I laughed uneasily and gave her a crooked smile.

"N-No, I doubt that…"

"But if you're planning on going, I advise you to do it now. The fireworks will start very soon and the party will be over."

Sharon picked up her cup of tea, going back to doing what she was doing. I nodded to the now-distracted female and proceeded to head up the stairs. The more steps I took, the more my feet turned into lead – why was I so worried about this?

I guess my fear of Break wasn't that temporary.

But thankfully, the Rainsworth princess had been right.

As soon as I arrived to the rooftop, Break's back was the first thing my widened eyes noticed. It was quiet and not many others were here.

"_Crud, and I wanted to blend in. That's going to be difficult to do now."_

I slowly made my way to the quiet Break, who was leaning forward against the brick railing with the wind gently blowing against his hair for added effect. I had to admit, this scene couldn't have looked more perfect.

"Uh… Break?" I poked his shoulder. "G-Good evening."

"Oh?" blinked the man as he turned around, looking at me with a slightly surprised expression. "Hello there. I quite expected you to come despite your injuries."

I stared at him silently, wondering if this was the type of reaction I hoped for. Then again, this was Break, meaning a surprised expression and a 'why are you here?' was not something one should expect. He didn't seem to have any candy around him, either.

I hope he wasn't still mad or upset at me… even thinking such things made me want to vomit.

"Break... thank you for not telling Sharon," I continued, unsure of what else to say. "She'd have killed me."

"No need to thank me. If I told her, she'd have killed me, too. It's the best way to keep safe."

I fidgeted with embarrassment, playing with my hair. Break eyed me as if he were wondering what I was doing. I couldn't tell if I wanted to move closer to him or to ignore him completely… probably more of the former. I tried to brush some of my bangs out of my face, when-

Bam.

My head shot up, realizing where that sound had come from. The display of fireworks had begun and myriads of colors splashed swiftly through the sky, with everyone giving all attention to the colorful display overhead. Break gave the fireworks a single glance before pulling something out his pocket.

I was too distracted with the scene before me and did not notice Break's actions until his pale hand made its way to my face. I blinked, wondering what it was he had just placed into my lackluster brown hair. As I touched it, I mentally gasped.

"Break," I said with surprise. "Isn't this a symbol of-"

"Love, as ojou-sama would call it? Maybe," he cut off my sentence. "For the first and last time, I believe I have found myself feeling it. Or maybe that's what you want me to think~"

He did not look at me at all, but instead stared off into the display ahead with a smile of sincerity sitting on his face. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. I was astonished, but a laugh crept onto my lips, causing Break to look at me in confusion.

"Mm?" questioned Break. "Is something the matter?"

"I just find it funny… how you got to me first," I said, placing my hand above my head to feel the green-colored pin.

"Oho~" he said in a satisfied tone. "It's nice to know the feeling is mutual~"

"W-What?_!_" I flailed my arms like a lunatic. "I didn't say anything, stupid!"

"Of course you did. You can't change the past, Alva-saaan~" he stretched the honorific in my name, pulling out a lollipop from his coat pocket. "And I suppose ojou-sama now wins the bet."

"What bet…?" I questioned.

"I have told ojou-sama love is a useless feeling many times in the past. Sometime a few years ago, she promised me that I would someday find love. I promptly disagreed, thus turning it into a bet~"

I gulped.

"And… what would the loser of the bet have to do?"

"Mmm, I don't remember. I am pretty sure it was an obnoxiously embarrassing expectation, but since I was so sure I'd win at the time, I agreed to do whatever ojou-sama was planning on making me do."

"Oh god," I said with shock, half-watching the fireworks decrease. "You're _not_ telling Sharon. If you do, I'll kill you."

"You're not curious~?" Break questioned while flapping his sleeve. "Besides, how bad can things be~? Ojou-sama's dares could only be something regarding her biggest obsession: love."

"Exactly!" I said loudly, causing a few people to glance at me for a moment, making me withdraw in embarrassment. "I hope Sharon's mind is in the right place…"

Fake tears streamed down my face. By now, the fireworks had entirely come to a close, people exiting the roof and beginning to make their way home.

"Alva-san…" Break said seriously.

I got nervous. He lifted his hand and slowly reached for me, as if hinting to take this to the next level. I nearly exploded from nervousness.

He was going to kiss me.

He was going to kiss me here.

"…forehead attack!" he lightly tapped my forehead with his pointer finger and smirked. I nearly felt like I was going to collapse from being ridiculed.

"You just had to build up all that suspense, didn't you?_!_"

"Perhaps," he smirked. "And… Alva-san?"

"Yes…?"

"Are you…" he took a slight pause, gaze of confusion piercing through me. "…still afraid?"

I blinked, taking a while to digest this.

"_That's right… I was scared of him because of how he acted after the fire yesterday."_

I smiled. Instead, I threw my arms around him, pulling him into a warm embrace. My grip on him tightened and I smiled the smile I'd held back for so long.

"A-Alva-san…?" Break asked me as he allowed his arms to gently hold me closer.

"No, I'm not scared. I answered your question, so…" I pulled away from our embrace and allowed our eyes to meet once again. "…don't worry about it anymore, all right?"

He looked at me quietly for a few seconds.

"Heh. If you say so~"

LATER:

The moon lingered silently above the world, leaving rays of light in its wake. It was cold – typical for a moist, autumn day. Although the Reveille festival ended several hours ago, I felt a little heavy from overworking myself.

A short while after the party, I called my doctor since I'd felt guilty about running so quickly, even if I somewhat did get his approval. Break even chipped in, making excuses that practically left me scarred. I closed my eyes and thought back to the somewhat-recent past.

"_Please, doctor… I really wish to stay here. Believe me, if anything is remotely off with my health, I'll be sure to tell you right away!" I said in dedication._

"_Alva-san, I am sure you realize the consequences of forcing your body to move around in a situation where it shouldn't," the doctor began. "It should be in your best interest to return here as soon as possible."_

"_Excluding some minor arm pains that come and go, I feel perfectly fine. Besides, I-"_

_Before I could finish, Break appeared behind me, grabbing the phone out of my hands. He snickered, pulling his lollipop out of his mouth so his voice sounded proper._

"_Bower-san," the hatter began. "On behalf of my wife, I would like it if you allowed her to stay home. We have very important business to tend to."_

"_What could be more important than her health? This is indiscreet!"_

_Break put a sleeve to his mouth, fake tears streaming down his face. _

"_We really need to make a baby. I beg you, Bower-san. We have been trying for months and it isn't-"_

_I hastily snatched the phone from Break, giving him the dirtiest look I could possibly make at the moment. _

"_Break, you moron, s-shut up," I whispered so only he could hear me. Then, I returned the phone to my ear. "Uh, sorry about that, Bower-san. He hasn't been feeling very well lately." _

_Before I could add any more information, the phone was snatched away from me once again, with the one responsible this time dashing away with it firmly sitting in his hands._

"_My wife just told me to tell you our babysitter called. She is unable to make it to watch our children for the next month due to an accident, thus needing Alva-san to stay home and watch them while I work. Please, Bower-san." Break was smiling immensely, satisfied with the actions he'd been taking. _

"_No! He's lying!" I finally caught up to Break, grabbing the phone out of his hands yet again._

"_I'm sorry, Bower-san. He forgot to take his pills today…"_

_The person on the other end of the line said nothing. Instead, silence engrossed the conversation. I blinked, calling out the doctor's name and asking him if he was still there._

"_Please feel free to stay home, Alva-san. I just…" he coughed. "…read your report and apparently you're good enough to go. Sorry for bothering you." _

_With that said, the doctor immediately hung up, not even bothering to wait for my goodbye._

"_Oh, great. You scared him away, Break!"_

"_At least I got the job done, right~?"_

Geez… Break was truly nonsensical.

"Alva-san!" a voice called out, snapping me out of my daze.

"Eh?"I jumped up in surprise. "Sorry, Sharon."

"Is something bothering you? And may I ask, why is your arm bandaged up?"

She placed a hand to her cheek, slightly worried.

"Uh... I want to be a doctor when I'm older. I think I can learn a lot from putting myself in the shoes of my patients, so I did this," I said. "And… yeah, that's pretty much all."

"_Pleasebuythatexcuse…"_

"Ah, I see. That is quite understandable," Sharon smiled, crossing her arms in front of her politely on the table. Break was sitting inbetween the two, listening in on their conversation.

"_Yes!"_

"Ojou-sama," he finally spoke up. "How did you feel about the festival?"

"It was anything but a letdown this year, as well. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the fireworks and the food was delicious. How about you, Break?"

I watched as the two engaged in conversation, leaning my head against the palm of my left hand.

"Mmm. I didn't find much excitement in it until the tenth hour when Alva-san came to greet me," he said as he gave me a naughty look. I sweatdropped.

"Break, no!" I called out, causing Sharon to turn around and look at me. I quickly smacked my mouth shut, looking down onto the plate of food before me. I took a single bite out of my meat in an attempt to look normal.

"Break…" Sharon said. "What did you do to Alva-san? This is unacceptable!" She pulled out an enormous metallic fan out of thin air, whacking him over the head and watching as the man collapsed onto the marble floor.

"B-Break!" I called, kneeling down to feel if he was still alive. Very few could survive Sharon's painful attacks and it was a miracle Break wasn't dead by now. "Gah… you're so beaten up. This is kind of funny in a way."

"I'm… glad I entertained you," he raised a brow in frustration as he tried to pry himself up. I helped him up slowly – as I did this, something fell out of my pocket. I squeaked and quickly grabbed the clip, shoving it back into my pocket.

"Oh my, Alva-san," Sharon said with stars appearing in her eyes. "Who gave you those green feathers? And don't worry about Break, he'll get up soon. Ignore him."

"_Ignore him, huh…?"_ I mentally slapped my forehead, wondering how Sharon was so bipolar. I helped Break get up anyway, watching him smile while rubbing off a trail of blood running down his mouth.

"Now, Alva-san. Who gave you that charm?" she questioned, clasping her hands together romantically yet also evilly. The tea-obsessed princess closed in on me, ignoring Break's presence completely.

Silence.

"Could it have been Oz-sama, perhaps?"

Silence.

"How about Gil?"

I shook my head no.

"Break?"

I tensed, feeling goosebumps corrode my body.

"I only gave it to Alva-san because I thought she could use more hair decorations, Ojou-sama~" Break said with a smile. "You know how few she has."

"You are very well aware of the meaning behind those charms, Break. But anyways…" she pushed Break aside, grabbing both of my hands and eyeing me with utmost happiness. "I am so glad for you, Alva-san! I will pray you'll be able to teach Break some manners, including how to enter a room properly! We need to hurriedly arrange the wedding ceremony!"

"The heck?" I questioned, sweatdropping. Yet another unexpected Sharon-esque response. "I didn't say I wanted to marry Break!"

"Oh my! Speaking of which, wouldn't that mean I won the bet?"

Break perked up upon hearing this, attempting to crawl away so his presence wouldn't be seen.

"Break… you are not allowed to escape. This is a very important moment." A glint of naughtiness appeared in Sharon's eye, startling even Break. He waved his hands in front of himself, laughing.

"Ojou-sama, I am a very tired old man. I need my rest," he said, grabbing his lollipop and preparing to dash forward.

"Oh no you don't. You're not going to leave Alva-san hanging, are you? I'm sure she'd be very upset…"

"Actually," I sighed. "I think I'd prefer that. I'm a little scared of what you have in mind, Sharon," I admitted.

"It won't be a problem for you!" she said, tightening her hands into fists determinedly. "Are you willing to partake in this?"

"I think I'll go to bed… and listen to this tomorrow. Is that all right with you?"

"My, oh my. If you truly are exhausted, then please, go rest."

"_She lets me go so easily compared to Break."_

I breathed a sigh of relief. I really, truly needed some rest.

LATER:

I stretched my hands tiredly while looking out the window, thanking the heavens for another very _normal_ day. I changed into my bed attire and lay down only to have my mind completely overtaken by the events of today… again. Something seemed off, though.

I picked up the nearest book and tossed it towards the closet, smashing its doors open and watching a confused Break fall out.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Is it so wrong for me to want to say good night?" he questioned, giving a fake pout.

"Your goodbyes are way too irregular. Learn to come in through the door!"

"How imprudent," he said, dusting off his white coat and getting up off of the floor. "Maybe you aren't as charming as I thought~" he joked.

"I wasn't charming to begin with…" I said. He merely tapped my lips with his pointer finger.

"That's not a very wise thing to say, miss."

Break walked around for a moment. He then pulled out some candy and, as expected, stuffed it into his mouth. The unexpected portion was that he actually offered a piece to me.

"Thanks, I'd lov-"

Break pulled the candy out of my reach just as I tried to grab it, throwing it into his mouth.

"_Damn that guy, he freaking tricked me!"_

"God, Break! You'd make such a bad husband, you know that? You're insane!" I whined, earning myself a laugh.

"Would you like me to act like a good husband~?" he inched closer to me. "It's not a very difficult task to please you."

"N-No thanks…"

"Well then, I shall take my leave. Good night, then."

The moment he left, I plopped back onto my pillow.

What a day.


	12. Scroll XII

"_I wonder… where am I? I feel really light…"_

_I looked around the area as my eyes slowly opened, surprised at what I was greeted with. Stairways on the ceiling, blood-stained carpets, poisonous plants, dead people…_

_Was this… the Abyss?_

_No… it wasn't just that. It seemed different somehow._

"_Is anyone there?" I called. _

_No answer._

_Giving myself a light smack across the face, I decided to head forward. My feet trekked along the red, blood-stained carpet; before I knew it, a stairway had appeared before me. I blinked, wondering where it came from._

_The moment I took that first step, the area turned pitch black and I began falling._

_I screamed._

"Ahhhhh! Where the hell am I?_!_"

I sprang up with a shriek, falling right off what I assumed to be the couch. I heard the sound of rain tap against the window, making the already-bitter situation seem even more depressing. Without doing much thinking, I groggily shook my legs back and forth as I sat back up.

"_It's fine… was just some bad dream…"_ I told myself.

My heart was racing. For a dream, it sure seemed unbelievably real.

"Oh? Alva-san, are you all right?"

I recognized that familiar voice and way of speaking. Break had sat just slightly right of the window, staring into my eyes with a puzzled expression. Expectedly, a pink lollipop was sitting in his mouth.

"Good afternoon~" he said while his candy dangled in his mouth. "Looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"Why am I in this room, and… on the couch?" I immediately questioned.

"You don't remember? Reim-san requested for a meeting between the three of us in regards to your chain," he said with a tacky smile. "He was concerned about your health as it seemed to be dwindling quite fast due to its use. The meeting ended about thirty minutes ago and you fell fast asleep almost as soon as Reim-san left."

"Oh, right… how did I forget, now?"

A tingling sensation then corroded my body – I responded by gripping myself tightly, turning away from the hatter.

"Is something wrong~?"

I coughed to adjust my voice with haste.

"Nothing, just a bad dream. We all get them, you know."

Break didn't look too satisfied with my attempt at convincing him and immediately dropped his smile, looking at me with somewhat of a disappointed expression.

"Very unconvincing," he said, gobbling up the stick of the lollipop. My eyes exploded in size: that couldn't have been possible. Was he even _human_? "You need to take lessons to improve that flaw of yours."

A knock was heard, intervening my response while snapping me out of my bewildered daze. It took me a few seconds to comprehend the situation, but I readily gave the man on the other end an okay, allowing him to make his way into the dimly-lit room.

"Excuse me, Alva-sama," stated a formally-dressed man with an almost blank expression. "It appears you have a letter. I was asked to deliver it to you by Sharon-ojousama."

"Huh…?"

I blinked, curiously taking the envelope out of the man's hand. I examined its navy outer layer, almost hesitating in flipping to the front and finding out who could possibly have sent this.

"Thank you," I said.

The man bowed and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind him before taking his leave. Break sat up, crossing his legs in front of him lazily while eyeing the letter sitting firmly in my grasp.

"_God, I just gotta flip it over and see who sent it. It isn't that hard, is it? On the count of three… one… two… three!"_

The room was filled with silence as I took it upon myself to finish this deed once and for all. The sound of my own heavy breathing seemed to dominate all other forms of noise for just a split second. Break itched closer to me, plopping his head down onto my shoulder playfully while looking down at what was making me so stunned.

"I don't recognize that name," Break said with a smile. "Orlando Rayne?"

Just then, I realized how close Break was to me and went red. I shooed him away, watching the white-haired man laugh in amusement while sinking away into his own portion of the long, silver couch.

"I don't know how I remember this, but…" I began, pulling out the letter contained inside the small blue envelope. "I think he's my dad. Been a while since I've seen him."

"Oh? Perhaps this visit could help clarify all the things that you don't know about…"

He hit the nail right on the head.

I had to see him, because I had to find out more. I couldn't let myself hang around like this without knowing more about myself.

I nodded without making eye contact, reading through the fancy scriptwork. I took a deep breath as the message came to a close, throwing the sheet aside without much care.

"He says he wants to come meet me…" I held down my nose bridge as I spoke.

"My, my. Someone doesn't seem too satisfied about seeing their parent after many years have passed. Are you perhaps afraid to tell him about our _relationship_~?" he joked.

"No! That's not it, shut the hell up!" I blurted out. "I just don't like him… well, I don't really remember him, actually. But for some reason, something tells me this'll end badly…"

"Did he specify a date on which he'd like to meet?" Break flapped his sleeves with a smile, eyeing the table in front of him and picking out the cake slice he was most interested in. "If it worries you, you should make arrangements for a bodyguard during your trip."

I grabbed the paper and did a double take, noticing a new piece of information not visible to the naked eye.

"Oh, you're right, it does say…"

"It would've been easier if he just called," Break said, puzzled. "Very strange."

"Ugh, tell me about it. He wants to meet at the bridge in about two hours. God, he's an idiot. I bet he totally forgot the time it takes for mails to get delivered – I barely have time to get ready now!" I screamed, tugging at my hair. "But only very wealthy families have phones, so maybe where he lives now, he doesn't have access…"

Break took my concern to his advantage and pulled the letter out of my grasp, watching the action go unnoticed as I flailed amidst all the confusion. The hatter hastily read it over, not very satisfied with what he'd seen.

"Hey, where's my letter?" I returned to normal as I suspiciously eyed Break, noticing he was now sitting with his back facing me, trying to hide all evidence. "You're not very good at lying yourself, Break. Anyways… I'm going to go or else I won't make it in time."

"Shall I get you a bodyguard, Alva-san?" he asked, turning his head around. "It could be dangerous."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. He's my father, after all… I'm sure I'm just over-thinking things. I've never met him before so it isn't in my place to assume he's a bad person. Plus he told me to come by myself, so no bodyguards."

"That's exactly it," Break stated in a serious tone. "You do not remember him; therefore, you do not know what kind of man he is. I'm on my way to see ojou-sama so I cannot attend, but it will be no problem to assign you a bodyguard if you feel you need it."

"Oh, I'll be fine," I retorted. "Stay here, okay? I'll be back soon." I waved him off and exited the room, feeling the slightest cold glare shoot through me from behind from the one and only Break.

I dismissed it promptly, walking forward and making a right to where Sharon's room was located. I gave a gentle knock and pried open the entryway, gazing around Sharon's room before allowing my eyes to meet hers.

"Sharon, I'm going out to see someone," I called, giving a wave to the female sitting at the small table. "That okay?"

The Rainsworth princess shot her head up to look at me; in moments, her calm expression collapsed into an uneasy one.

"Are you sure, Alva-san? Would you perhaps want a bodyguard? I could easily arrange it."

"_Her too? They worry too much."_

"I'm fine," I sighed, picking out a coat from the nearby closet. "Do you mind if I use this? I don't have anything that could fight this weather."

"Of course, Alva-san," smiled Sharon kindly. "There's no need to ask; what belongs to me also belongs to you. We're sisters now after all, right?"

I gave her a crooked smile but accepted the gesture. The two of us had become very close and practically saw each other as family – I had to admit, it was a very pleasing relationship.

"Well, I'm off, then. I need to hurry or I'll be late."

Sharon gave a nod, dismissing me from the room.

I was down to only an hour and a half remaining. I ran down the elongated hallway, pulling my jacket on in the process; there wasn't much time to waste. As I was running, someone made their way from the corner of the hallway. My eyes widened and I swiftly hit the "brakes", stopping centimeters before the man just in time. In front of me stood a surprised Reim, who had a look of terror on his face.

"Oh, Reim-san," I said apologetically. "Sorry about that. I'm in a rush."

"I heard from Xerxes. You're going to see your father, aren't you?" he adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "Normally I'd suggest waiting it out until we find some information on him, but it appears you don't have time. We have people investigating at this very moment, so if he is revealed to be a threat, we'll send someone out immediately."

The atmosphere was quiet; no one was around and neither of us said another word. I didn't want to think my own father would be a dangerous figure, so I tried my best to dismiss the thought. I sighed and calmed myself down by tapping my forehead, looking up at my superior. Although I was generally a higher status than him, Reim definitely had a much broader knowledge of things than I did.

"All right… thank you, Reim-san. I appreciate all of this, and I'm sorry for troubling you."

"T-This is my job," Reim suddenly said uneasily while giving an apologetic bow. "Please do not think you are causing me any trouble."

"_He's too kind. I'm glad we're friends," _I laughed to myself.

"You need to loosen up a bit, Reim. We're friends, aren't we?" I said, dropping his honorific so our relationship wasn't as stuffy.

"W-Well… yes, I suppose we are," he finally admitted, glasses slightly sliding off of his face due to uneasiness. "I wish you luck, Alva-san."

I nodded, waving him off. I prepared to take a step forward but froze, realizing something was very, very off.

"Um… Alva-san?" asked Reim.

"Er, which way's the exit again?"

I saw a slight small smile tinge at his facial features.

"That way…" he pointed as he spoke.

LATER:

"Man… this rain turned into snow so quickly. I can't believe it's already winter," I sighed.

My pale snow jacket managed to do its job and keep me warm… however, my mind was doing an extremely good job at driving me crazy and making me feel even _colder_. I eyed the sky passively, watching gray clouds loom overhead. "Well, no use in standing here. The bridge isn't too far off, only problem now is getting there in this weather."

I headed off along the right path, following the trail that was most familiar to me. I stuck my hands in my pockets to keep them as warm as possible and swayed back and forth gently with the wind to keep myself warmer, allowing my mind to wander.

I almost felt like I was in a trance. It really did feel like the snow was telling me to turn back.

"_I swear I'm going to get lost because of this weather. Maybe I should've asked for a bodyguard or requested a carriage. That freaking moronic dad of mine…."_

After a few more moments of challenging the painstaking weather, I found myself in the appropriate destination. What used to be a lovely brown bridge sitting above a lake was now coated with white; the water underneath that used to house so many fish was now entirely frozen over. I held an arm in front of myself to shield my eyes from the snow.

As if on cue, I heard footsteps treading through the snow. I looked over in said direction, noticing a man dressed similarly to me with short brown hair and a beard that somewhat resembled Oscar's. He had a cigar in his mouth, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust and back away.

I didn't like smokers.

"U-Uh…" I began. "Dad?"

"Oh my, if it isn't my little girl! Ever since I moved across country, I've been missing you very much," the man dressed in black said. "How have you been? I'm sorry I couldn't get in contact with you. There was an issue with the money and I had to move away so outside families wouldn't get suspicious."

"I've been… good, I guess?" I replied, unsure of what to say. This guy's voice almost seemed desperate, which made me feel somewhat uneasy. "But why did you only now decide to get in contact with me? And how did you find out where I was?"

"A Nightray boy with heterochromia told me where you were. I had to wait it out until I could see you because of suspicion."

"_Nightray boy with heterochromia… does he mean Vincent?"_

"What's… the matter?" he said almost in fright. "You seem a little scared… how cute you've become, though. I'm glad to know I have such a pretty daughter."

"A lot of time has passed, dad," I rolled my eyes. "You know, we all grow up. That kind of stuff. It's been _years_ since I last saw you.

"Hmm, I suppose you're right. But… I thought I told you to come by yourself?" the man said abruptly, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Huh? I did come myself..."

"Then what's the deal with that man behind the tree?" he said, pointing to his left and making someone's familiar face to poke out from behind the trunk. I was about to scream.

"Break, you idiot! I told you _not to come_!"

I made a snowball and threw it at him, which he quickly avoided. He laughed and made his way over to me.

"Why if it isn't Xerxes Break. I'm very unsatisfied with you stalking my daughter!" my 'dad' complained, trying his best to keep an angry composure to frighten Break so he wouldn't get any closer.

"He knows you? What the..."

Break, however, continued moving forward and stopped as soon as he was next to me, glaring at the man before us.

"Wait… why is wearing the same thing he always does? Isn't it a little _too_ cold for that?" I trailed off.

"Oh my, that's quite an accusation you're making. It's unfortunate to say, but you're mistaken, Rayne-san," the hatter said calmly while pulling out his blade. "It seems that you're the one stalking _my_ cute girlfriend~"

"Ehh?_!_ That's bull, Break! Pure bull!" I whispered behind him.

"Stop domineering," said my dad, adjusting his tall black hat as the wind picked up. "But this is quite unexpected coming from a man such as yourself. Xerxes Break… a man who was said to always live in solitude and never involve himself with such feelings. I guess that's changed now, hasn't it?" he questioned, laughing like a generic villain from a comic book.

"Goodness… your father is quite a nuisance, isn't he? He's speaking in such a shaky tone," Break smirked while continuing to point the blade towards the 'guy' – for lack of better term, as I was finding it hard to consider him family – who was backing away slightly but trying his best to hide that.

Break grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his chest from behind, watching the one before us turn enraged.

"Oho, this makes you angry, doesn't it?" Break laughed sadistically. "How I love to see you in pain."

I swallowed. What worried me more was how Break was becoming more and more sadistic; his touch was almost lacking any form of emotion.

"Let go of my daughter!" he took a deep breath. "There's no way I'd let her marry someone like you!"

"Oho. Who she chooses to marry is up to no one but her. You're the one that's domineering now~" the hatter replied devilishly.

"What are you trying to accomplish by arguing over me? Break _isn't_ my boyfriend and I'm not marrying _anyone_!" I seethed.

"See, even she said no! Back away!" the man added, assuming I was on his side.

"I'm afraid that's not possible… at least, not until you tell us what we don't already know."

I slapped my forehead. They weren't even listening to what I just said, were they?

"I'm not telling anyone anything!" the man yelled loudly, causing the ground under the three to tremble. Suddenly, a thick cloud of smoke appeared behind the tall figure dressed in black, revealing a Trump Card. "I'll have my Trump kill you, Xerxes Break!"

"You can't be serious," Break laughed. "Trumps are the weakest chains from the Abyss; surely you don't hope to defend yourself with that."

Break lunged forward with his blade, slicing the Trump in front of him instantly. I watched with my mouth hanging open. Having received too much damage, the chain disappeared into a hole that formed underground; my 'dad' fell down from fright and backed into a tree.

"Is that all?" Break pointed the blade to the man's face, not intending to show any mercy. "How pathetic."

"Break, wait! He may be an idiot, but don't hurt him," I pleaded, which surprised even me.

"T-That's right!" the middle-aged man chanted. "You tell him!"

"If you were told he was involved in your disappearance all those years ago, would that change your mind?" Break spoke while withdrawing his sword.

"_What….?"_

There was silence for a moment; I looked down onto the snowy floor, just now realizing that the blizzard subsided and was replaced with gorgeous, gentle snowflakes. A cold breeze swept past.

"Is that true?" I finally asked.

"Why would it be true?" The man's knees went numb as he gazed into Break's crimson pupil. "Come on; don't blame your father for this."

"No use in hiding it anymore~" Break laughed happily, twirling around as if he were part of a circus. "You've been found out, old man."

"It's something I had to do," he admitted, eyes staring lifelessly ahead. "I didn't want to do it. I really didn't want to."

"Do what?" I questioned impatiently.

"I didn't want to do it. I was just so distraught over my dead wife. It was so hard to go on without her, so I…"

"You… did what?" I questioned as I neared him, curling my hand into a fist. Anger seeped out of me to such an extreme that I could no longer hold in my rage. I prepared to chuck my fist straight at his face, imagining him with a black eye, but Break swiftly stopped me. I didn't realize how fast he was; I almost didn't have time to even blink.

"Don't waste your time, Alva-san."

The hatter smiled at me before glaring at my dad with near-murderous intent. He walked up to the man, picking him up by the collar and dragging him upwards as he tried to squirm free.

"People like you are the most pathetic," Break said, dropping him painfully down onto the cold, rough ground. He winced as his face met the icy stone ground, crawling away into a tree. "Now, Alva-san, shall we take him into custody? I already have reinforcements from Pandora~"

The moment the hatter finished his sentence, a group of a dozen individuals revealed themselves from amidst the nearby forest, surrounding the shaking middle-aged man. I shot up in surprise; each person had their own chain to accompany them, which made it all the more surprising. I expected such from Pandora, but actually seeing it in person still left me baffled.

I then turned around, staring at my 'dad' angrily.

"You're going to pay for whatever you did, you piece of-"

Before I could finish my statement, Break covered my mouth with his sleeve.

"Now, now. A lady should watch her language~" he laughed, pulling cookies out from his pocket while watching enthusiastically as the man was carried away in a different direction than where I came from.

"You… you're angry one moment and happy the next. I just don't understand you," I told him.

"But you still love me, right?"

Cue facepalm.

LATER:

It took around an hour for Break to present his upperclassmen with the report on what had happened. I decided to follow after him – which I assumed to be the better option, as I'd probably be questioned – which ended up being the case. I presented the men with whatever I knew; it almost made me feel uncomfortable, as I was giving away information regarding my own private life.

Break smirked as he waved off the Pandora members, holding a candelabrum in one hand.

"Looks like the snowstorm has completely subsided. How fitting; even the weather was going with the flow of the events," he gulped down some candy and laughed. "Now that we're alone, Alva-san, there's something I want to say."

"What is it?" I asked without making eye contact, staring off out the window.

"You always seem to be in need of rescue, and I am not very satisfied with it," he began. I blinked, tilting my head in confusion. "For that, I must punish you."

"W-What? I'm not always in need of rescue. If you didn't show up, I'd probably have used my chain to fight him off! You just have a habit of-" I froze as Break grabbed my shoulders and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"Mm…" he muttered.

I raised a brow, giving him a light punch in the face.

"Just tell me, Break!"

"Hm…" he continued muttering incoherent nonsense as if he were deep in thought, ignoring me.

"Well? God, just say it, you Willy Wonka!"

Break then snapped his fingers, as if he had decided on an idea.

"I'm going to make you fall asleep."

He then waved his finger in front of me as if he were trying to hypnotize me. I allowed my eyes to trail after his finger but remained unaffected.

"Drat, I really thought that would work~"

"…why would you want me to fall asleep?" I asked, not understanding the logic behind that.

"So you can sleepwalk again," he said as he clasped his sleeves together happily. "I thoroughly enjoyed the last time it happened~"

"….oh. Well too bad, cause it's not going to happen," I said shyly, remembering what had happened. I sucked my teeth and turned around so my back faced Break, intent on hiding my embarrassment. Break, however, pulled me into his chest from behind the same way as he did earlier.

"You can't hide from me~"

"G-Gah, at least _ask_! Besides, I'm sure you like your candy more than _me_!" I spat. "Now, get off!"

I turned my body around and attempted to push him away but instead ended up knocking myself as well as Break down onto the couch on accident. Momentarily, I realized I had now been on top of Break in a very… awkward position. My mind died at that moment.

"If…" the uncanny man started. "If you'd rather do this instead, I'd happily oblige!" he purposely taunted me.

"Geez, you're so straightforward…" I smiled crookedly, leaning down and allowing myself to be embraced. Upon doing so, I felt a tint of warmth arise from inside my chest… it was as if the sun itself existed inside me.

I didn't even care how cheesy that sounded.

The tingling sensation seemed to last forever with neither of us moving an inch… that is, until someone decided to ruin the moment by opening the door.

Sharon, dropping the plate of tea she had been holding, stood with her mouth ajar as numbness corroded her all over. She pulled out a fan in milliseconds, eyes glinting with evilness.

"_**Break**_!" she screamed and whacked him across the head with all her might, tears streaming down her face. "You know the way of a gentleman is to get married first, then proceed with the next step! Hold in your hormones!"

"O-Ojou-sama, this isn't-"

The Rainsworth princess ignored him and pulled out another fan using her other hand, this time whacking the man two times harder than before.

Break was nearly passed out by now as I moved off of him, sweatdropping like a madman. Sharon had been especially scary when it came to romance and something as big as this was sure to set her off completely.

"Hmph…!" whined Sharon as she crossed her arms, moving over to pick up the cups of tea and plate she had dropped. It was a good thing the ceramics had landed on the carpet instead of the floor; otherwise, Sharon would have had yet another tragedy to deal with. "I'm going to go get someone to clean this up, so please wait here. And Break…" she looked at him evilly, making him twitch. "Don't think of doing anything while I'm gone!"

Sharon stormed off, leaving us devastated by ourselves. I looked at Break and poked his lying body with a spoon, leaning down to his level to see if he was dead.

"Are you alive?" I asked uncomfortably. "Earth to Xerxes Break…"

He didn't reply. I watched him shift around and rub his wounds amidst a wince. Suddenly, I spat out a laugh.

"A-Alva-san…" Break said amidst his suffering. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I choked out, trying to hold in my tears and laughter. "I'm just thankful for all of this."

"Mm, you're satisfied to see ojou-sama do these things to me? I didn't realize I was hated that much…" he grinned in frustration, getting up on one knee before he forced himself back up completely with a grunt.

"No, you're not hated. I love you, Break," I admitted, leaning back onto the couch while putting my arms behind my head. It took me a few seconds to realize what I said, but it didn't really worry me; I meant it in more of a friendly way.

"Was that a confession?" a slightly surprised Break asked, preparing to head out the door. Although he probably did enjoy spending time with me, there were times when duty called.

"Maybe~" I mimicked Break's annoying tone. "Interpret it how you wish."

"Goodness me, things sure seem to be getting heated, don't they? But joking aside…" Break's tone became serious. "Your father is being questioned as we speak. Make sure you prepare yourself for the worst so you won't be as disappointed. Now then, I will bid you farewell…"

He pointed his cane at my face before giving me his trademark smile and heading off… into the damn cupboard.

I ran towards it and busted open the door. Of course, no one was there.

"How the hell does he keep_ doing_ that…!"

A certain abusive Rainsworth female returned to my room with a maid behind her to snap me out of my phase, all ready to clean. She glanced around the room, getting hit with the surprise that Break was gone. Sharon took this as her chance and sat next to me on the couch, inching closer to me as the maid busied herself.

"Alva-san, do you remember the deal Break and I made?" she said with stars in her eyes, clasping her hands together romantically. "I decided to go easy on you two since Break is such an idiot: I want you to teach Break how to dance!"

"You call that going easy?_!_" I responded with a gasp. "I can't even dance that well!"

"Oh, but you will think about it, won't you?" she began and sipped some tea that I didn't know even existed. "I'm sure you'll be able to whip him into shape by giving him commands. He's always been a bad dancer."

"_Uh... he's usually the one that whips me,"_ I told myself. "_He's too dominant."_

"Is something the matter?" Sharon asked with concern. I looked at her with discomfort before turning away; in response, Sharon looked down onto her knees. "I just want what's best for Xarx-nii."

It would be an understatement if I said I was only a little bit surprised.

Sharon very rarely called Break by this name and it came off as something very foreign to me. Albeit Sharon could be insane at times, it was nice to know she truly had good intentions.

"I'll think about it… but I'm not very good at it, so…"

"Oh, Alva-san, don't worry. Reim-san told me you were quite a good dancer, actually."

I felt like a brick hit in the face.

"W-Who told him that?_!_"

"I'm not sure," she giggled. "But if he says so, then you must be."

"T-Thanks, Sharon… but it's been a while since I danced," I reminded her.

By now, the maid had finished cleaning and replaced the soaked carpet with a brand new one. She called over to Sharon and announced her completion, bowing as she graciously exited the room. I released a long overdue groan, leaning into the couch and closing my eyes.

But then, I got an idea.

Half-opening one eye, I took the letter my father had sent me and tossed it over the table and into the fireplace. I watched the sheet disintegrate and suddenly felt a brim of satisfaction overcome my body.

"I don't need him. After all, I already have a new family… right here in the mansion."


	13. Scroll XIII

"So… where are you taking me?" I questioned in confusion while following after Reim, who seemed to be in a big rush. He looked back at me uneasily but didn't stop his journey.

"I'm sorry for the haste, but there's something we need to discuss," Reim said in an apologetic tone. "I'd love to explain it to you in detail before we go, but we don't have much time left."

Reim neared the conference room, placing his gloved hand softly onto the dark door's silver handle. Pulling the door open, I came face-to-face with the familiar faces of my friends – more noticeably the faces I hadn't seen in a while. The room was dimly lit with the usual fancy décor greeting my pensive eyes.

Oz and Gilbert sat quietly at a black table, turning around as I came into the room. Alice was on the other side of Oz, staring at me without much of a care.

"I haven't seen you guys in a few days," I said with surprise as I walked up to them. "You've been busy with illegal contractor business or what?"

Oz, as expected, did the honors,

"Yeah, we have. We're so exhausted after it, too… I haven't been sleeping much lately."

"I agree with my manservant. I haven't been getting as much meat as usual and it's been bugging me!" Alice yelled loudly.

"I don't mind, but…" Gil began. "…we've been doing all these things that don't seem to give us any clue towards anything."

"I feel sorry for you guys," I admitted. "But why are you all here? Did Reim wake you up, too?"

Reim, upon hearing this, coughed into his hand shyly.

"Ugh. He did," Oz sighed and leaned back. I couldn't help but stifle a laugh; poor Reim was feeling so cornered, and it was all the more funny when the one being 'abused' was such a shy and proper guy like him.

"I'm very sorry about that, but… now that you're all here…" Reim spoke up. Before he could say anything else, he noticed everyone were twitching and staring at him as if he were a madman with three heads.

"W-What? Is something on… my face?" he blushed, running a hand through his sleek skin.

"No, we're just eager to go to bed," I said. "We're tired. It's late."

"Yeah, yeah!" Oz complained, throwing his arms in the air. Said arms nearly hit me on accident; Gil reached out for Oz to stop him, but the blond stopped himself just in time, giving Gil a hard stare.

"Oh, stop being useless, Gil! I could've stopped myself!"

For a moment, Gilbert had the urge to retreat into a corner and invent new ways to be depressed.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Reim apologized once again. "But I have gathered you all here to tell you something important: it's been a few weeks since Alva-san's father was thrown into confinement, and we have been able to deduce some information since then."

We all quietly listened – especially me. Although the trio near me wasn't present during my dad's confiscation, they heard a lot about it from many people, including Reim.

"You're probably wondering what this has to do with anyone but Alva-san. Well, we were able to discover that the man seemed to have a connection with the Tragedy of Sablier."

"Wait, what…?" I asked in a whisper.

"And since you're all looking for info regarding this topic, I decided to pass the information onto you. It appears he was one of the men thrown into the Abyss one hundred years ago. He probably ended up in a future time and started a family here…" he spoke and looked into my eyes with concern. "That's most of what we figured out."

"But what does that have to do with us?" Alice asked.

"Well, for starters…" Reim reached for his pocketbook and pulled out a glossy sheet of paper, handing it to me. "He seemed to have this in his coat pocket."

My mouth formed an O as I flipped it over. A beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair sat on a bench with her hands neatly crossed on her lap. Her smile radiated energy even from something as simple as a photo – I couldn't help but crack a smile of my own.

"…we believe this may have some of the memories you are seeking, so we brought this to you."

"She's… she's so pretty…" Oz muttered, inching closer to the photo unconsciously. "Is she your mother, Alva-chan? She looks a lot like you."

"I don't know, but… I have a feeling she is," I said through a half-lidded smile.

"H-Hey, Oz!" Alice tugged at his . "Don't get so close! You're _my_ manservant!"

"No, he's _my_ master!" Gil tugged him from the other side with frustration.

I facepalmed.

"Guys, calm down. Shouldn't you be checking there's a memory inside there, Alice?" I asked the young girl, who immediately stopped tugging on her friend's arm.

"Oh… yeah," she said in embarrassment, reaching for the photo that I gently handed over to her. She held it for a moment, but nothing seemed to happen.

"I guess there's nothing…" she began. "But she really is pretty. I sometimes wonder what it's like to have a parent…" the female trailed off.

"Alice…"

"Well, you'd probably give your mother hell if you had one, stupid rabbit," retorted Gil. "I bet she'd disown you."

"Oh, you're going to die, I swear!" she seethed, trying to rip him apart but being hold down by a displeased Oz. "Let me go, Oz! I'm gonna kill that stupid seaweed head!"

"No, Alice! Don't kill him!" he choked while holding onto her. His gaze then averted over to Gil, who flinched. "And Gil, don't say something like that. It's mean."

"S-Sorry, Oz…"

"Ah… so there was nothing," Reim sighed, ignoring the bickering individuals. "It was worth a shot. Alva-san, you can keep the photograph, but we may need to refer back to it at one point. Is that all right with you?"

"That's fine," I said, clutching onto the photo.

"Is there more? Because I'm dead tired," spoke the blond boy near me.

"No… that's all. You're free to go now and I apologize for keeping you here."

"Ah, freedom at last! Alva-chan, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm hoping I get a day off or something," laughed Oz.

I don't know what came over me, but the next thing I remember was pulling him into a friendly embrace, which everyone was surprised by. He blinked but grinned back; our hug lasted for a short while, but I could tell it had so much meaning.

Gil twitched. I bet he wanted to hug him instead.

The blond then headed for the exit as we exchanged one final glance.

"Hey…" Alice said as she followed him, stopping right near me. "Don-"

"I know, Alice," I cut her off. "I won't get too close to him. We're just friends, so don't worry."

"I wasn't going to say that!" She turned deep crimson. "But yeah… okay. Bye."

I watched their backs slowly disappear into the outside hallway, running a hand through my hair to get the bangs out of my eyes. My eyes shut closed unconsciously and I leaned back to think, trying to imagine how life would have been like if my mother was still around.

"Is everything all right? You spaced out a bit, Alva-san," Reim questioned. "Ah… I feel sorry for those three."

"Eh?" I inquired, opening my eyes again. "Why?"

"They've been so busy lately. I would love for them to get a day off, but they're supposed to be heading to Sabriel tomorrow. They haven't been told yet."

"S-Sablier?" I choked. "Why the _hell_ are they going there?"

At that moment, Reim gave a faint laugh. Confusion crept onto me, sending shivers down my spine for some reason.

"What's so funny?" my voice cracked.

"I'm sorry, Alva-san," he said. "Xerxes talks about you quite a lot. He'd always avoid my statements when I asked him what you meant to him, but he's still so easy to read. I guess it's because I've known him for so long. He claims you have a 'potty mouth', as Xerxes would say it, which is also amusing to see in person. I admit, in a way, it inspires me that you can act this way despite all the stress. It's like a break from work to me."

That was the longest thing Reim had ever said.

"I'll take that as a compliment. You know, Reim, you're a really nice guy. That on its own is really inspiring to me, too."

"I-I appreciate it. There's one more thing I need to tell you and then you can be on your way… I kept this from Oz-sama and the rest because it is a private matter. You can choose to tell them if you wish."

I waited for him to continue. He narrowed his eyes as if wondering if he should say it.

"It was revealed that he sacrificed you to his chain, which is when you ended up in the Abyss and made a contract with Lucifer. We don't know anything past that as of yet."

Silence.

Reim shifted around nervously; he definitely regretted saying anything. I looked at him lifelessly, my eyes as wide as they'd ever been.

I couldn't believe it.

"You… you're not serious."

"I'm sorry, Alva-san. But on the upside…" he took a deep breath. "…you still have your friends here, right?"

I didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry… that was wrong of me. I'll take my leave now, as I'm sure you're exhausted."

I thought for a moment – that moment felt like eternity.

"Reim… thank you," I began. "But I think I want to be alone right now."

He nodded, immediately disappearing from sight.

It was about time I did the same.

LATER:

I lay on my bed, trying my best to fall asleep but with no success.

It was now well past 6AM and I wondered whether sleeping was even worth it; hell, knowing my luck, someone would wake me up in two hours anyway if I dared even _try_ to sleep. I twisted and turned, knocking a pillow down onto the patterned carpet.

There was a lot of nonsense on my mind right now. Why were Oz and Gil going to Sablier? The capital of the legendary tragedy couldn't be a safe place to visit, no matter how much time has passed; in fact, I'd even heard that the air was toxic around there.

Would Break be going with them?

More importantly… will they come back _safely_?

And of course, what Reim told me… it made me sick. For the first time in a while, I felt like crying.

It hurt badly.

"Ah, forget it!" I screamed out loud, shooting up to a straight position. "Maybe I should use sleeping pills to knock myself out. That way no one will force me awake and I won't be the demon lord when I'm awoken… or maybe I should just kill myself. Oh god, I'm turning into a depressed maniac."

Swiftly, I dismissed these ideas. Instead, I decided to occupy myself by pulling out a piece of paper out of the drawer nearby, as well as my favorite yellow jewel-encrusted pen. I heaved a sigh, beginning to write about my favorite yet least favorite topic.

_Three things I hate about Xerxes Break_

I had no damn idea _why_ Break was on my mind at this time to begin with – maybe from Reim's conversation? I believed that writing helped relieve stress, so I decided to go all out, relieving myself by spewing out nonsense.

_One: He's a douche who can't stop joking around. _

Yeah, I definitely got annoyed by his constant comical antics at times.

How did I pick the word 'douche' up, anyway? Surely it was something foreign.

_Two: He doesn't eat properly yet still maintains a healthy weight. How is that possible?_

How _was_ it possible? I bet even a supreme being wouldn't be able to answer that.

I brought the pen down to the next line, but could not write a thing. Was this what they called… writer's block? I tapped my chin with the pen as I entered the realm of thinking, and then something came to me. How could I have forgotten?

_Three: It's hard to tell if he's serious or if he's joking._

I felt like this could go with the first statement, but at the same time, it was its own separate idea. The list of dislikes was now felt complete – what better way to finish it off than to write about the exact opposite?

_Three things I like about Xerxes Break_

_One: He… cares about me, I think?_

I didn't know why, but I felt awkward writing about my favorite parts about him. It made my heart beat a little too fast for comfort. This astounded me – _how_ could I feel uncomfortable doing such petty things after what happened between us the day I had been sleepwalking? No, _how_ could I feel uncomfortable after what Break told me the day of the party? It made me embarrassed to even think about.

_Two: He's usually not afraid to say what he thinks. He's just… not straight sometimes, but he isn't afraid to say what he wants to._

Although his notions sometimes stung, there was nothing more to say except honesty is the best policy. Even with this, though, he had a habit of hiding petty things and it drove me to insanity. Alice definitely invented the most fitting nickname for him.

_Three: He's got quite a powerful chain._

"Geez…." I muttered to myself. "Looking over this, I can't put into words how stupid the likes section is. It sounds like I'm forcing myself to praise him."

With that said, I heaved a yawn, plopping back down onto the pillows with the paper still sitting on my lap. My pen rolled down my side.

Some time passed and I did absolutely nothing. For some reason, I just couldn't force my eyes shut.

I guess it was time to order sleeping pills.

The pain was still so huge. The Abyss… I was really thrown into it? By my _father_ nonetheless?

I then heard a small thud; my head arched in surprise all of a sudden, noticing no one's presence as my eyes darted around the dark room. I looked over towards the cupboard but felt no human aura emanating from it. Instead, I decided to give the area under the bed a whirl.

I leaned down from the bed and pulled up the bed sheets.

Of course.

"You can come out now, Break. You've done this so many times that I can _sense_ when you're coming," I said angrily. The white-haired man crawled out from under my bed as a response, smiling at me while waving his cane around innocently.

"Good morning," he said happily, getting back onto his feet. "I just thought I'd greet you before I go. But please don't tell ojou-sama, this is supposed to be a secret~"

"…so you _are_ going to Sablier with Oz and the rest?" I hastily inquired.

"Ah, so you found out?" he questioned. "I assume Reim-san was responsible; he's been working quite hard lately. Unfortunately, yes, I am going. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Break…" I muttered, sitting up and looking at him. "You idiots better come back safely."

"You worry too much, Alva-san," he laughed. "We will make sure to come back in one piece. However, that doesn't guarantee other parts of us will still be alive…" he said in a lower tone, causing chills to escalate down my spine. "Ah, you're probably wondering what I meant."

I nodded, gesturing for him to proceed with the conversation.

"Don't worry about it, my lady~" he sang, taking a seat on the edge of my bed and noticing the sheet of paper at my side. Picking it up and taking a quick glance, he sat slightly surprised as I snatched the paper out of his hands.

"What's that, Alva-san?" he questioned curiously.

"Can't you tell just by looking? It's a sheet of paper," I mocked. He was so retarded.

"You should read it to me."

"Don't you have places to be?" I popped a vein and inched closer to his face, watching him mimic my movements. I backed away upon noticing how close our faces were, startled by his usual bravery. "And I'm sure you can read it yourself if you wanted. God, you're awkward."

"How fun it is to abuse you," the hatter admitted. "You're quite the cute lady, although the attitude you have at the moment should be worked on." He smiled innocently and intertwined his fingers.

"Personally, your straightforward comical attitude should be worked on as well, I think," I countered while crossing my arms.

"Oh – what's this?" Break ignored me, reaching for what I assumed to be my mother's photo. "This is… who is it?"

"It's my mother," I replied quickly, looking away. "Reim gave it to me earlier."

Break narrowed his eye ever so slightly.

"Did Reim-san tell you anything…?"

"…"

"Ah, so he did. It probably isn't of my concern, but I'd like to know about it."

"I think you like me too much."

"I only do this for my own seductive pleasure," he said and nibbled on a lollipop he pulled out of thin air.

Well, that stung. That coupled with what Reim told me made me feel all the more hated. I curled my hand into a fist.

"Well, if you want to know…" I paused. Break stopped his chewing; he was staring at me so hard that I nearly sunk into the pillows behind me. "…my father apparently sacrificed me to his chain and I ended up in the Abyss, where I made a contract with Lucifer."

I could tell Break was shocked, but I did not look at him. Instead, I stared lifelessly into the wall before me. I just realized how similar my situation sounded to what Break himself did in the past when he was still known as Kevin.

"Just leave. I'm nothing to you but a toy anyway, as I was for my father."

"Alva-san-"

"Get out," I demanded. "I'm not in a good mood right now."

"…if you're so fixated on that idea, then… I will take my leave," he said, looking down so his bangs covered his only eye. He slowly got himself up and headed for the door, where he froze in his spot as if waiting for me to change my mind.

I said nothing.

I could hear a small sigh tug at his lips before he disappeared from sight completely.

I finally caved and fell back when he was no longer present, placing a hand over my forehead. I mumbled something incoherent that even I couldn't make out with half-lidded eyes. My eyes felt blurry – maybe I was crying? I couldn't tell anymore.

Nothing could have stung more than knowing I meant nothing to both the person I assumed I loved and the person I assumed was family.

Nothing could have hurt more.

Before I knew it, hours passed. I'd be damned if it wasn't afternoon already.

I didn't know what to do. I hadn't moved an inch since Break left, mind boggled with a myriad of depressing thoughts. Even the thought of eating or drinking was enough to make me want to vomit.

I heard a knock on the door and, wanting a change of pace, decided to answer it. I was surprised to come face-to-face with Reim; did he literally camp here overnight?

"U-Um… I'm sorry for disturbing you yet again, Alva-san," Reim said. "But I just want you to know Pandora has decided to transfer your father to the Main Headquarters and continue the investigation there. There have been a lot of chain attacks recently and we can't continue dedicating the majority of our time on this one case. I hope that's all right."

"Reim…" I said menacingly. The man merely gulped, awaiting her next line.

"I deeply apologize-"

I cut him off by saying,

"…do you ever sleep?"

His worried expression transformed into a smile, which made me blush from embarrassment. Reim laughed twice in a twenty-four hour time period – I couldn't have committed some kind of taboo just now, could I? That was definitely rare.

"I'm sorry, that caught me slightly off guard," he said, calming his laughter. "But yes, I do sleep. Lately my sleep time has been diminishing, unfortunately. I stayed here overnight because of personal duties."

"At least you're allied with the Rainsworths, so you can use the mansion as you please," I said, trying to regain some emotion. I then averted my gaze down to my knees, where I shifted around uncomfortably. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing…" I sighed. "Just mad at a certain idiot for speaking without thinking."

"It's Xerxes, isn't it?"

"H-How do you know?"

"Just a lucky guess, I suppose," he responded. "Xerxes himself has been acting strange lately… it's not like him."

I eyed Reim, surprised by what he had just said. Was this really true? Did I not notice?

"I didn't really notice…" I admitted. "Although he did say something about getting worse at reading people and how not all parts of him may be alive when he comes back… something or other."

Reim merely brought a hand to his forehead, covering his features for a short moment.

"I see."

Something definitely happened to Break and I felt guilty for only now realizing; maybe I had done something to upset him and he was merely paying me back by acting in such a way? I dismissed my ideas, remembering that he had only added onto the pain I was feeling. No matter how bad he wanted to pay me back – if he even did – something like that was uncalled for.

"It seems you know something, Reim," I spoke. "But I won't ask; it's none of my concern. If you'll excuse me, I think I want to step out and go to the store… I have sweets to buy for a certain idiot," I white-lied.

NARRATOR'S POV:

Reim tried to extend a hand to the brown-haired girl, but she brushed past him and left the room before he could reach out to her. Feeble anguish shot through his body as he slowly sat himself down onto the cold chair standing near the door. A chuckle escaped the man's lips as he allowed his hand to trail down his face, shadows covering his eyes completely.

"Xerxes… what have you done?"

ALVA'S POV:

I trailed forward, allowing my dress to mirror my movements as it swayed to follow the patterns of the day's windy weather. I wasn't really keen on wearing a dress on an errand as small as this, but Sharon had, unfortunately, run into me on her way out and insisted that we play dress up.

So I was trash to my father, a toy to Break, and a Barbie to Sharon.

Nice.

Thankfully, this dress was merely casual, giving my body more freedom to move around.

I neared a deli, which I quickly walked into. There, I did myself the honors of buying some of my favorite cottage cheese. Ever since moving into the Rainsworth mansion, I noticed I had been unearthing fetishes I never knew I had.

Afterwards, I found myself distracted by a toy shop.

"That's adorable…" I mumbled, staring at the little music box on the other side of the glass. It played a beautiful tune that almost sounded like a lullaby, nearly lulling me to sleep. I nearly fell face-first into the glass but quickly gripped it to balance myself just in time.

Cue sigh.

I had to pass on this object, as much as I wanted it. It was a little _too_ expensive for my tastes.

My next stop was a photo booth, which I never knew they had on this street. I was caught off guard as a man stumbled into me from behind, placing his hands around my shoulders and forcing me forward.

"Hey there, miss! I think you'd look good in a photo! How about it? I'll sell ya a set for cheap!"

"Uh…" I began, unsure of what to say. I did have some spare money on me and a photo _would_ be a good memory, so I decided to go with it. Besides, if he _did_ turn out to be a rapist or something, I always had my chain to help me… I hoped.

Needless to say, the photos turned out much better than I imagined.

Although my smile was a little crooked, I looked decently good in most of these poses. This would definitely be a good memory.

I paid up happily and requested a bag to put these in, as I had no pockets. Even if I did, the photos would crumple up in there.

I headed forward and examined my surroundings, smiling as the sounds of birds chirping made its way into my ears. The weather was beautiful. I probably spent a few hours outside by now. It wasn't very cold for winter, which made me happy. In fact, I'd say it was spring or summer weather.

Something tugged at me as I walked. I stopped, looking up at the sky as if I felt something.

"_What… is this? I don't feel right, and it isn't Lucifer…"_

I shook my head to get myself back to normal. I couldn't let some unknown feeling get the best of my day off.

It was already almost evening by now. I didn't realize it at first, but Oz and the gang had been gone for well over ten hours.

After only a few more minutes of walking, I neared one of Break's favorite candy and bakery stores - Une Boulangerie. From the name alone, one could easily conclude it was a foreign shop that expanded its market to other states and countries. He would always say how glad he was that it had a branch here.

I walked inside the small, tan-coated building, nearing the front counter to examine some of today's special sales.

"Ah, hello again, Alva-chan!" said a slightly chubby middle-aged woman as she made her way to the front. "I see you're here again. How have things been, dear?"

"Hello, Mancini-san," came my slightly delayed reply. I was busying myself by looking through the glass and at the selection. "I've been all right, hopefully you have as well. Can you tell me about what you'd recommend for today, please? I'm getting really tired of being Break's sweets errand girl."

The woman hollered a laughed as if she expected this.

"Why don't you pick yourself this time, dear? A man is always more pleased when the female pours some thought into an idea," she replied matter-of-factly.

"…he'll never know anyway," I said mischievously. "And I'm not as much of a sweets fan as he is, so I'd probably end up getting something he doesn't like. That and… I don't really care anymore. He's been acting carelessly lately and it hurts," I added while continuing to examine the selection before me. I had to admit, everything did look delicious. "He doesn't care about me anymore."

"Nonsense!" the woman spoke with surprise. "Even I know that Break-san would eat – no, eat and _love_ – absolutely any kind of sweet object."

That was true; I felt a little defeated.

"And also…" she added. "I'm sure that's not true. Men just have a habit of trying to seem strong, so they try not to show their weakness. He may not be good at expressing emotions and instead does it in his own way. I can tell Break-san really does think a lot of you."

"I… I don't know," I admitted. "It's just hard to think about. I've had a lot of problems pile up at the same time lately, too."

"Oh, poor dear…" said the woman from the other side of the counter. "And it's visible because of the bags under your eyes. Please, dear, I promise – the rollercoaster can only go so far down before it goes back up. I promise."

"T-Thank you, ma'am…" I smiled.

"Now, are you still interested in buying something? I'm sure these will fill you right up! It's on the house!"

"Are you sure…?" I asked with widened eyes, only to receive a determined nod in response. "Okay, I guess I'll take the cream-coated vanilla cake… the one with the strawberries, please."

"Why, of course, dear!"

"…..also, can I have twenty pounds of your best candy?" I hesitantly added with embarrassment, eyebrow twitching. The Italian woman behind the counter nodded, pulling out a large bag and retreating back into the storage room, where all _excessive_ amounts of sweets were kept.

Yeah, Break needed _that_ much. He couldn't do with what was just available in the front.

In less than a minute, the storekeeper returned to the register. Despite the saleswoman being a little heavy, she had quite a hard time carrying Break's candy bag – it made me wonder how I'd carry it all back to the mansion.

"_Well, a half hour walk won't hurt…. that and I guess I need the exercise," _I sighed. I tried to shove some money on the counter, but she refused it promptly. I blushed.

"Please keep the money, hun. You're one of my very best customers so it's the least I can do. Now, run along, as it seems I have a line waiting!"

I quickly turned around, noticing a group of about six people behind me. They all looked at my candy bag like I was some freak. I swallowed, waving goodbye to my acquaintance while dragging the bag out in embarrassment.

I began walking, looking back every once in a while to make sure the bag didn't rip.

Seemed my knowledge of how much time the trip would eat up wasn't quite accurate.

Albeit being a twenty to thirty minute walk back to the mansion, I found my tired body coupled with the frustrated attitude to be taking a toll on me – I was walking much slower than expected.

I decided to take a break and sat down on the nearby porch, watching the clouds slowly move through the orange sky. Not realizing how much time had passed, I was snapped out of my trance as a crack was heard nearby. Jerking my head as an impulse reaction, I found a stray cat chasing a small tree branch and proceeding to pounce on the already nearly-discombobulated object.

If it weren't for that cat, I'd have stayed in the same spot for hours more. I got up off of the porch, trying to pull the bag up with me to carry it back home. At that moment, I heard footsteps; the tabby cat's play was interrupted by this sudden noise, dashing away upon the nearing of the tall man's footsteps.

"Alva-san?" questioned a deep, familiar voice. He extended a hand to me, smiling. "You look like you could use some help."

"Gilbert…!" I turned around, surprised to see him. He smiled down onto me, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and tossing it into the nearby trash can. I was glad Gilbert finally learned of my hatred for smoking.

"I'll carry this for you," he insisted. "You don't look very restful today."

"Fact of the matter is, I'm not," I admitted, pouting. "Where are Oz and Alice? Are you guys back already?"

"Y-Yeah…" he said a little uncomfortably, as if something traumatic had happened. "We got Break back to the mansion and the stupid rabbit wanted some meat, so Oz made me go buy some," he pointed to the bag hanging on his shoulder. "He said he was too exhausted to do it himself."

I laughed mentally.

"_That's definitely not true. Oz just knows he can lie and use Gilbert as his slave."_

I accepted Gilbert's offer, watching the black-haired man pick up the candy-filled bag with ease. He blinked as he felt its contents.

"Break just got a bunch of candy last week. This is ridiculous."

"Oh, tell me about it."

With that said, Gilbert and I made our way in the direction of the Rainsworth mansion, both bags hanging down from his shoulder. I only now realized how handsome he was – that and he was one of the kindest people I had met thus far. I sighed, taking a moment to appreciate him.

"_Pfft… if I didn't like Break, I'd probably go for Reim or Gilbert, since Oz is too young and Barma is just too obnoxious," _I began. _"Wait… I don't like Break anymore. He's cruel… and stupid…" _I argued with my inner dark and light halves.

"Pardon me for asking, but… is everything okay, Gil?"

"Huh? O-Oh, yes, it's fine," he spoke softly.

"Gil, I can tell you're lying. I'm a contractor just like you and I can handle these things, so why not tell me?" I soothingly requested.

"Um… well, there was some danger, but we got out of it. That and an earthquake amongst other things…" Gil paused, as if he had been itching to hide another piece of information. He then sighed, noticing my fixated gaze.

I made up my mind. I wanted to know.

I couldn't sit around being the useless girl I was anymore.

"Well, Break showed up a little after we did. He fought off a Baskerville but fell unconscious. We're not sure when he'll wake up."

"E… Eh..?" I gulped, trying not to succumb to worry. "Seriously…?"

"_He must've overused his powers again, that idiot… maybe that was why I felt so strange earlier…"_

Silence completely encompassed us during the remainder of the trip. Gilbert stared blankly ahead of him as he allowed all forms of seriousness to sweep over his mind. I had my fists clenched the entire time, as if I was readying myself to send someone flying into the wall.

In what felt like hours, we arrived back to the mansion. I followed Gilbert, who marched to Break's room and dragged the bags with him. The combined smell of meat and candy was disgusting, I had to admit.

Upon arrival, Gilbert slowly opened the door, allowing me to take the first steps as he did the honors of holding the door open. He really was a gentleman.

Break was lying on his bed, asleep. Gilbert really did tell the truth.

"Break…" I muttered, walking up to his side.

"He hasn't moved a muscle since he collapsed, but we had doctors check up on him and they said his life was in no danger," Gilbert said, trying his best to ease the tension. "He just needs some time before he wakes up."

The black-haired man then walked over to his closet; I assumed that was where he wanted to put the candy. Unfortunately, as soon as he opened its door, he was sent backwards by a mountain of lollipops, causing Gilbert to twitch from pain and frustration.

"Good grief… what else does he have here?"

I tried not to laugh as Gilbert's head stuck out of all those lollipops.

Gilbert got himself up, cleaning the mess before gently shutting the closet door. He looked over at me, running a hand through his messy black hair, sweat dripping down his face, indicating obvious nervousness.

"I'm going to go see Oz," he said, placing the bag of meat on his other shoulder to ease the stress. "Alva-san, try not to think too much into this."

I gave a small nod, indicating that I had at least been listening. Gilbert muttered something and left the room, allowing the smell of meat to trail after him. Eventually, the stench had completely cleared, finally making me able to focus properly again. I wrinkled my nose.

"You know, you're truly an idiot," I spoke, knowing full well he couldn't hear me. "You overuse your powers when you know how much it makes people like Sharon, Reim, and I worry. I know you've got no choice, and you're doing everything possible to make sure you don't die, but… that isn't enough."

I let my fist meet the edge of his bed, trying my best to let my anger out without physically harming anyone.

"I'm surprised how little I'm thinking about my father. I guess to me, he's no longer part of my life… probably because you've already almost taken it over," I admitted, looking down onto Break's peaceful face. At that moment, I wished he had been awake to hear what I was saying.

"Geez, maybe I should learn to sword fight or something. That way I'll be able to physically train myself without having to constantly rely on my chain. Maybe then I'll be more useful for you all and have the power to prevent this shit from happening…"

I took a pause.

"I'll finish this conversation when you're up. Rest well… you idiot."

I practically jumped off of Break's bed, taking an abrupt leave and slamming the door behind me. This whole thing was a shocking realization to me – I realized that our futures weren't very bright. Which one of us… would be the first to go?

When I had left the room, I heard a yelp. This yelp was familiar – looked like someone was busy torturing another poor, defenseless person.

"Oz! Come back!" squeaked Gil, running at the speed of light in my direction. I looked the other way, noticing Oz carrying something very precious.

It was Gil's hat.

"No way, Gil!" Oz yelled happily.

I smiled as Gilbert ran past me, ignoring my presence almost completely. As the two disappeared and the yelling faded, my smile did too.

Would this kind of peace last forever?

I gripped the wall, holding my head to try and ease the ever-growing headache.

Our future… didn't seem bright at all.


	14. Scroll XIV

**PPC: As of 5/16/11, the entire fic has been rewritten, pretty much. If you're an old reader, please go back and read from the start. Yay, first person POV! Much more fun than third, I noticed. But other than that, yes, I'm back. **

**WARNING:**** THIS CONTAINS A VERY MILD LIME (lol that word looks so stupid when used for fanfiction) AT THE END. There are no details whatsoever (I didn't even write the scene itself at all, that's left for your imagination) and ****and this is still rated T, but just letting you know.**

**I hate how this site loves to delete my punctuation, making me have to italicize/unitalicize some of them to get them to show up. If you know of a workaround, please PM it to me~!**

**Probably typos throughout the fic since it was changed from third to first POV, but... I tried!**

* * *

I stood in front of the door to Sharon's room with a platter containing a cup of tea balanced steadily in the palm of my hand. I leaned my other hand against the door to push it open and sighed, waltzing inside while thanking my fast learning ability for gracing me with the ability to juggle.

Sharon was sitting on her bed, obvious exhaustion present in her demeanor. The deep bags under her eyes made her look like she hadn't slept in weeks.

I wondered if that was how I looked like right now.

"Sharon," I said amidst my worried sigh. "I've got some tea for you."

The Rainsworth heiress turned around, acknowledging my presence. She tried to form a plausible smile but failed.

Well, or so I thought.

Others probably would've bought that tacky smile, but I could easy see through it.

"Come on, Sharon," I scratched the back of my head as I spoke, handing Sharon a cup of Earl Grey. "Moping isn't going to do you much good. Had Break been conscious right now, he'd say, 'oh, ojou-sama seems to be lacking her beauty sleep. It's not appropriate for a lady to look like this! Right, Emily?' or something."

Sharon stifled a laugh. I sighed with relief, glad that seemed to work, albeit probably temporarily.

"I do apologize. It's just hard…" she began. "…to know how useless I've been lately. Break tries immensely to do everything when his condition can't handle it…" She set her cup down and looked down at her bed. "I'm going to kill him for leaving without telling me when he wakes up. Even Oz-sama and the rest didn't expect to see him there."

Cue sweatdrop.

It had day number two since the group returned from Sablier; the mansion was livelier lately, as the news of the event had spread even to several maids in the household. Oz, Alice, and Gilbert were out buying some sweets – Oz, being the cheery blonde that he was, decided that a wide array of cakes would definitely be enough to wake Break up.

I stopped thinking about Oz's gang and returned my attention to the longing girl before me.

"So," I began, trying to ease the growing tension. "Break hasn't even moved, has he? Maybe we should stuff some coffee cakes in front of him, like Oz suggested."

"No, unfortunately," Sharon replied. "I don't think any more of your tactics to get him to wake up will work, either. I heard recently that you tried to hang a piece of candy to a string and stood there for two hours while holding it in front of Break's face?"

I turned beet red.

"Who told you that! No one should've seen it!"

"Apparently Oz-sama heard the door creak and decided to peek in."

"He stood there for all those two hours and _timed_ it? Not even _I_ know how long I stood there…."

Sharon laughed quietly, half-distracted look sitting on her face.

"I wonder… Oz-sama seems to be very interested in these precarious things."

The silence proceeded to eat away at us again after Sharon finished her line.

I caved in and decided to let Sharon have her alone time, got up off the sofa and exited the room without Sharon's knowledge: she had been too focused on staring out the window. As I silently closed the door behind me, my voice lowered to a whisper: "Don't stress over this too much, Sharon… it'll worry Break a lot when he wakes up."

I leaned my back against the door and sighed, taking a moment to kick the carpet in frustration before going my own way. I closed in on my fifth bedroom – courtesy of Sharon – and gently opened the door, allowing it to stay half-open as I whirled in.

Immediately pulling open the drawer, I gathered some white paper and began folding it as I leaned myself against the wall of said drawer. My fingers danced elegantly and constructed an elegant-looking paper crane within seconds.

"That's number five today…" I sighed out loud. "I guess that's it…. or, wait."

I contemplated for a bit and eventually decided to create a few more cranes.

Since I had been spoiled by my caretakers and friends here at the Rainsworth mansion, I often found myself with nothing to do, so I took it upon myself to study various forms of art – including origami.

I continued working, deciding to choose the blue sheet of paper for the next crane. It turned out looking the best out of all of the ones I'd made. I then moved onto the final crane, this time using regular white sheets, and quickly folded it while admiring all of what I had created.

"All right, last one's almost done…" I muttered, slouching against the wall. Albeit looking a bit questionable, the final touches on the last paper crane were complete, making me feel accomplished.

"_Okay… now comes the hard part."_

I took them gently in my arms and pushed the door open once again with my back, making a left turn and walking down the hallway.

"_This is just crazy…" _I began, closing my eyes. I didn't need to see where I was going – I knew this path well enough by now. _"I just can't believe all of this is happe-"_

However, just when I thought the trip would be a safe one, I accidentally bumped into warm figure, which I assumed to be a person.

"Oof!" I said, stumbling back but managing to regain my composure. "S-Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Ah… me too," replied a familiar voice. "Oh, hey, Alva-chan!"

"Oz!" I smiled in surprise, pulling him into a small hug while trying not to crush my belongings. "You're back? I haven't seen you all day today and I've been awake for… well, the whole night and entire day so far."

"Well, it didn't take a lot of time to pick sweets for Break, so we got back early. I can't wait to use them on him to see if he wakes up!" he said determinedly. "We got kind of distracted while there, though, from Alice's meat obsession to the stupid arguing Gil and her seem to do amongst other things," he sighed. "Now… where is Alice…"

"She's lost?" I inquired.

"She went ahead and I lost track of her…" he continued looking around, preparing to take a step forward. I looked down to the floor on impulse and gasped, pushing Oz back to prevent him from taking said step. "W-What?_!_ What did I do?" he asked confusedly.

"Do not step," I said almost robotically.

"Eh….?"

"Crane. Stepping is forbidden."

Oz blinked, eyes trailing my finger as I pointed downwards to my work of art. He laughed childishly and stepped back, giving me just enough space to pick the crane back up.

"Ohh, I didn't know you knew how to make paper cranes! They're really cute, Alva-chan!" Oz commented with his usual cheery smile. "Are they for Break?"

I froze, wishing this boy wasn't so clever.

"Yeah. I don't really have anything better to do with my time, so I figured I'd make something. You know… it's also said that folding a thousand paper cranes can make someone's wish come true," my eyebrow twitched furiously as I mumbled, hoping he didn't think I was stupid for believing those type of things. "Anyways, where're you headed to now? Going to keep looking for Alice?"

"Well, I figured I should-"

"Oz!" came a feminine voice. "I was looking everywhere for you, you useless manservant!"

She sent a relatively weak punch straight to his face, watching him back up and hold his cheek in pain.

"H-Huh? I was looking for _you_!" he countered. "You went ahead and I lost track of you!"

"Yeah, whatever," she sighed as she set her foot on top of his wincing, kneeling body. "I couldn't ignore the scent of meat, so I followed it. They're actually done cooking it, so I went to call for you."

"Ah…" he laughed from his position on the floor. "Sure, Alice. Alva-chan, do you want to come with us, or are you busy right now?"

"I ate a little while ago, so I'm fine. Enjoy yourselves; you more than deserve the break," I said kindly.

He nodded in appreciation and understanding, getting back up to his feet while Alice crossed her arms and looked away.

"Well, we're off, then. I'm starving!"

"Oz, before you go…" I began, extending my hand to him. "…how about a handshake? Just so we can relive the old times."

He stood there in surprise for a moment. I actually thought he'd start laughing at me, but instead, he showed the most sincere smile I'd ever seen, taking my hand in his.

"I'd love to!" he said through a toothy grin.

The stress bottled up inside me left for a short moment; since I had all of these guys, the urge to live on continued pushing me forward. I looked at the blushing Alice then back at the smiling Oz. Gilbert would've completed the 'set', but I had no clue where he was.

Oz turned around so his back faced me and left in the opposite direction, with his chain following closely after him.

And once again, the feeling of stress and loneliness crept its way back inside me.

I watched them disappear and once they were entirely gone, I looked at the cranes in my arms and then forward again. My feet felt like lead, but I forced them forward anyway – Break's room wasn't too far off.

As I opened the door, I was greeted with the same lying body I'd been seeing the last two days. He did not shift his position even in the slightest; he lay motionlessly without even the slightest of a twitch. I looked sadly down onto him, setting the cranes on the table near his bed. Going through the usual daily count, I managed to discern that there were now fifty-one cranes scattered across his room.

Break would probably think I'm weird if he were to wake up and see them all, but… I didn't mind. Even if he woke up and called me the stupidest person in existence, I'd be happy… happy because he returned from the depths of unconsciousness.

I had to pray that it _would_ turn out like that and Break _would_ weak up soon…

I then quietly looked around, making sure no one was watching me. The coast seemed to be clear, so I quickly pulled out some candy from my pocket, stuffing it in front of Break's nose.

"Come on… be a good boy and wake up…" I said as my eyebrow twitched. After a few seconds of holding it, I got frustrated and pulled it back. "Wow, I'm really that desperate."

Of course, Break didn't even budge.

I almost wanted to reach out for him and brush his bangs out of his eyes to see his hollow eye, but decided against it. I had no right to invade his privacy at such a time, even though he always invaded my own privacy.

I quietly leaned in and allowed my forehead to touch his, something I've turned into a daily habit. As I pulled back, I gave him one last glance and exited the room, hoping that his annoying nagging would return soon…

As I shut the door behind me, I slouched against it and looked at the ceiling. This was a stressful time for everyone, especially Sharon and Reim. The latter had took it upon himself to stay at the Rainsworth mansion until Break woke up, claiming he had to stay for "duty". I couldn't help but let a smile overtake my expression, glad that Break had such a good friend backing him up.

I looked at the clock hanging on the wall; although it felt like evening, it was still only morning. Slowly trekking through the depths of the hallway, I found myself end up at the front halls.

"I guess I'll… go pick a few roses or something."

As soon as I said that, I seemed to have gotten a good idea. I slowly walked down the stairs while gripping tightly onto the railing, staring lifelessly ahead and heading for the door. Pushing open the entryway, I immediately made a left, where the garden was located.

Although they weren't in season right now, there were still quite a lot of them. I almost felt guilty for picking a few, especially for such "petty reasons", but I went for it anyway. The Rainsworth mansion was rich enough to let this occasion slide; it was only three or so they'd lose out on this year.

I leaned down and reached for the three reddest roses I found, which was hard to do since they were all beautiful. I then pointed them towards the sun, smiling as their radiance shined brightly in the light. Now… all I had left to do was bring them to Break's room.

As I looked back at the mansion, I saw Alice's figure in the dining room. Smirking, I made my way back to the mansion, waltzing up the stairs and passing by the dining room since I assumed the trio was eating. I swayed back and forth tiredly as I headed for Break's room, making sure to hold the roses properly so their thorns wouldn't pierce me.

As I neared his room, I froze. Was that… shuffling?

Without even thinking, I smashed his door open.

Break seemed to be shifting around… I blinked, smashing the door behind me and running up to him. My eyes widened upon noticing his moving, although shaky, figure. I quickly placed the roses in the vase nearby and pushed my arms down onto his bed to steady myself, watching his eye open slowly.

I couldn't believe it… was he waking up, or just dreaming?

Once his eye was opened, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shifted his head around using whatever energy he had remaining. He then slightly twitched, as if he noticed something, arching his head around to look at me in confusion.

"Alva-san… is that you?"

"B-Break…." I choked, gripping his bed. "You're awake…!"

He merely smirked, balancing himself on his elbow as he tried to sit up. As soon as he made it halfway, he winced and fell back on the bed.

"Hey, don't get up yet, idiot! You're not well!" I scolded him. Break's face was tinged with a small smile. He then sniffed around as if he'd taken notice of something.

"Are those roses, Alva-san?"

I really didn't understand why he was asking me; they were right in the vase next to him, after all. Assuming it was just from his exhaustion, I promptly mumbled:

"Yeah. I was bringing them here for you."

He smirked.

"I'm glad you care~" he said shakily.

"_Glad to see he's slowly recuperating…"_ I told myself. _"But something seems awfully off."_

"Does… ojou-sama know about this?" he asked promptly, dropping his smile.

"She does. You really ought to tell her next time, Break… she has a right to know. She really isn't a child anymore."

The hatter didn't reply; instead, he merely looked to be completely lost in thought. He then brought a hand to his chest, gripping his white clothing tightly as he heaved a small sigh. Confusion washed over me the more I watched him.

An idea then came to me. I forced myself up, walking over to the drawer nearby and pulling out a small, purple piece of candy. This was one of the things Oz brought from the shop – he even mentioned dishing out quite a lot of money for this specific brand just for Break.

Apparently, grape was his favorite flavor.

As I took it gently in my grasp, I put on a determined grin and walked over to Break, shoving it in his face. He blinked, leaning up while using his elbows to balance himself.

"Is this candy?" the uncanny man began, waving his finger around. "You really _do_ know what I like~!"

I stared dumbfounded for a second, completely baffled at how he'd been acting. As Break tried to grab the treat out of my hand, I withdrew it, giving him a hard stare.

"What's wrong with you…?"

He froze, looking down so his bangs covered his eye. He then pulled the bed sheets over himself, wearing them like a hooded cape.

"Nothing~ you're so mean to me!" he pouted. I sat back down on the edge of his bed, refusing to buy this nonsense he had been spouting. To catch him off guard, I quietly leaned my face down so we were a mere few centimeters apart, awaiting some kind of tacky reaction.

"O~ya… is someone making a move on me~?" he chirped happily, pulling me down even closer for his own amusement. I flinched, looking away from him and trying not to enjoy the feeling his body made against my own. He smirked in victory, intertwining his fingers where they met behind my waist.

"Now… where is my candy?"

"To your left. It kind of fell when you were busy sexually harassing me," I said as my upper lip twitched, trying to bring a hand to brush my bangs out of my face but failing due to his excruciatingly firm grip.

He moved his hand around to look for the candy as I watched in utter confusion. It was right _there_ – within eye view, even – but he still seemed to have difficulty looking around for it. His hand trembled as he searched and I could tell the journey was beginning to make him frustrated.

And then it hit me.

"Break… you're-"

He placed his fingers over my lips, looking at me with his drained, half-lidded eye.

"Shh…"

I couldn't help but let a tear escape me. He looked so exhausted. It frightened me beyond belief – I thought back to the party months back, where Break even admitted to being crippled. I finally knew what he meant.

"Don't cry," he began. "Please don't cry."

This was completely unexpected. I thought he'd make fun of me, but he didn't. I tried to abide by his wishes, wiping my tears away as I leaned down again so our faces touched. His eye widened a bit at the contact.

"Alva-san…" he spoke slowly. "I want to apologize…"

"For what?" I asked him as I lay on top of him, not intending to pull away. He tossed the bed sheets over us both for some reason, pretending to be cold by trembling; even now, his childish personality was still above the surface.

"For what I said. It was wrong of me," he said through a sad smirk. "I didn't intend for such a thing."

"Break, I… don't worry about it. I admit, it hurt me a lot, but… I'm glad to know you didn't mean it, so we're back on good terms."

He tried to reach for me to caress my face, arm trembling as he felt around to find it. My eyes widened. So he really was…?

He merely smiled sadly, confirming my worry. I grabbed his hand and brought it to my cheek, gripping it tightly with my own.

"I hate you…" I choked out, unable to hold the tears in any longer. "I hate you so much."

"Alva-san…. I don't know what to do when kids cry, so…" he began. This time, it was _my_ turn to shush _him_.

"You're an idiot," I retorted.

I gently pushed my face onto his so our lips met. He was caught off guard and stuttered a bit but quickly got into it, snaking his arms around my waist for the second time. I tried not to blush as I felt his arms slowly start making their way up my back. However, I allowed him to proceed with the gesture, breaking the kiss and allowing my blue eyes to meet his lone red pupil.

I couldn't believe what I was going to say, but…

"Break…" I began. "…I think I want you."

He blinked once, obviously dumbfounded with the request.

"Are you sure?" he questioned me, narrowing his eye slightly.

I nodded – I couldn't hold it in. The feeling of his warm hands pressed against my back drove me crazy. I brushed his bangs out of his face and, for the first time, was able to see exactly what his hollow eye socket looked like. That was the moment I realized how broken Break really was.

He didn't try to stop me. Instead, he merely brought his own hand to mine, which was still above his hollow eye, gripping it firmly.

"I'm sure…." I finally replied, slurring my words.

He nodded, proceeding with the task at hand. He continued what he began earlier, prying off my shirt slowly and then going for 'other areas'. In a few minutes' time, I was completely unclothed. I swiftly returned the favor, nervousness crawling up my spine as this got more and more heated.

"I just wish… I was able to actually see you like this. It's pathetic, isn't it?"

I looked away from him. I was petrified – I really, really was. I didn't know what I'd do if Break were to leave. I trailed my pointer finger down his illegal contractor seal, leaning down to continue what we started.

That moment turned out to be the one we'd remember most.


	15. Scroll XV

I quietly peeked into an unfamiliar room, darting a look around ninja-style as I tapped the wooden wall of the door with my right hand in nervousness.

I needed to find and speak to him, and soon… but my mind was not in the right place at all at the moment. I was too distracted.

"Reim… pssst, Reim!" I whispered, curling my hands in front of my mouth to make sure the whispering sound didn't reach anywhere past his room. He froze in his spot, turning around and looking at me with a look of shock.

"Alva…-san?" spoke Reim, dropping the papers he was writing on. I nodded, gesturing for him to come over. His eyes widened a bit on confusion and he did what I hinted, leaning down slightly so we were on eye level with each other. "Is something wrong…?"

"B-Break… he woke up."

"What?_!_" he coughed out, allowing his mouth to drop open in shock. "When did he wake up? I will go inform the others right away!"

I lifted my pointer finger to add a few more important details, but Reim sprang out of the room before I had a chance to speak – he left in such haste that my hair flew back for a second. I turned around and followed after him, trying my best to make sure others in the mansion didn't hear our hasty running.

"Reim, slow down, for Pete's sake!" I screamed at him, only to have him flinch in surprise and come to a sudden halt. I nearly crashed into him but stopped myself, gripping his back to prevent myself from tipping over.

"…I'm sorry. It just… caught me off guard," he admitted, straightening his glasses. I sweatdropped, surprised at how quickly his personality shifted. "But we need to tell Sharon-ojousama and the rest. They'll be very happy. Now, Sharon-ojousama should be-"

"-in the tearoom down the hall," I filled in. He looked at me with surprise but allowed his mouth to form a smile, nodding to me in thanks. I blushed, looking away, making his expression shift to confusion.

"Is something wrong?" he quickly asked. My blush only deepened.

"…no, I'm fine… let's go get Sharon, shall we?"

He erased everything but Break from his mind and quickly hustled over to Sharon's room with me following closely behind. The tearoom on this floor was known to be the princess' favorite; Reim pushed past the curtain door and took a quick look around the room, admiring the diamond-encrusted mirror sitting to the left before making his way over to a dumbfounded Sharon sitting at the round table in the middle of the room.

"Reim-san, Alva-san, is something wrong?" she looked up at us.

Reim did the honors,

"Xerxes is awake."

"He is?" she said with dilated eyes, jumping up in surprise in a similar fashion to the man with glasses. I only now realized how similar those two were. I thought she'd cry, but her mouth merely formed a sadistic smile instead – she slowly made her way over to her drawer and pulled out the deadliest weapon in existence.

That's right – her well-known metallic fan. Reim gulped and backed away a bit.

"U-Um, Sharon-ojousama…?"

"So he's finally awake…" she said with a glint in her eye, which quickly subsided. "Now," continued the female innocently, putting the fan behind her back. "Let's go tell Oz-sama and the rest, shall we?"

LATER:

Reim got to Break's room in less than a minute, breathing heavily as he leaned against the same door he busted open. I arrived a few seconds after him, breathing in the same fashion. The others were somewhere not too far off behind us; unlike a certain Pandora member, they were in no rush.

"R-Reim… for God's sake, hold _up_!" I choked inbetween breaths, making him blush ever so lightly. Break sat up with his legs crossed and looked up at us both with his eye wide in confusion. We exchanged glances before I promptly ripped my gaze away, pretending to be interested in the carpet.

It was too difficult to look him straight in the eye after what happened just a while ago…

"X-Xerxes, you're…!" Reim slowly walked over to Break in shock, but stopped midair as his foot met one of my cranes. "Wait, what is this?"

"What do you mean, Reim-san~?" Break questioned innocently.

"Be careful!" I spat in embarrassment. "Those are my paper cranes! Don't step on them!"

"…paper cranes? That's certainly interesting," Break stifled a laugh, looking at me as if nothing ever happened. "I appreciate the sentiment, Alva-san."

"…yeah," I coughed with a blush. "Whatever. Glad you like them."

As if on cue, the door behind us gently whizzed open with Sharon taking the lead. She entered the room and immediately looked into Break's single red eye, holding back tears. I walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sharon, it's okay. You can cry-"

"Who needs to cry!" Sharon shot, pulling the fan from behind her and threatening Break with it. He panicked, backing into the bed but to no avail. The Rainsworth princess walked up to him sadistically, whacking him over the head one strong time, which made the man fall over to the floor.

"So you're finally awake, huh, Break?" she added as she tauntingly smacked the fan against the palm of her hand. Reim's eyes bulged out and he began cleaning his glasses in fright. I watched with my hands at my sides, eyes as small as dots. "You're such an idiot; you always try to finish things quickly and because of that, you get hurt! I worry about you so much, but you never tell me anything…! I'm not a child anymore, Break!"

Break twitched, looked away from his 'owner', so to speak.

"That's not it, ojou-sama…"

"Then what? _What_ is it? Why do you always insist on hurting me so much…?"

There was nothing but silence.

"You too, Reim-san!" she added, looking over to the man and making him back into the wall and bring his hands in front of him protectively. "You both… worry me so much!"

She then began crying, causing Reim's frightened demeanor to fade. He silently walked up to her, putting his hands on her shoulders to try and comfort the girl.

"S-Sharon-ojousama, don't cry…" spoke Reim, unsure of what to do. As an impulse reaction, he gave Break a hard stare. "Xerxes, you made Sharon upset! Apologize!"

As if the timing couldn't be better, Oz appeared in front of us in the blink of an eye and ended up right at Sharon's side.

"Yeah, Break! You made a girl cry, now apologize!" he added childishly. Reim fell back, just as confused with Oz's arrival as I was.

"Oz… when did you get here?" I questioned.

"Just now," he smiled. "Good morning, Break!"

"Oh… he's actually alive. I'm surprised," chimed Alice, making Oz laugh uneasily.

"Oh, great!" Break finally said as he regained his composure, climbing back on his bead. "You're all here. Well, except for Gilbert. Hey, Gilbert, come in, will you?" Break waved him in, making us all dart a look towards the door, which had the slightest creak still visible.

"U-Um…" began Gilbert, inching inside so his face was visible. "So you're okay, Break…?"

"I feel… sick after seeing you like that, Gilbert," Break said, causing Gil to retreat into a corner. Reim scolded Break, who didn't feel at all guilty.

"Well, nevermind that," Break ignored the criticism and merely brought a hand to his mouth, smirking down at Oz. "Oz-kun, how long have I been asleep?"

"Almost three days," Oz replied simply.

"Wow, that's quite a while… well, Alva-san helped me wake up happy and healthy~"

I turned beet red and quickly covered his mouth.

"Shut up!"

"I… don't know what you're talking about, but Alva-chan, we actually ran into Elliot at Sablier. He says you knew him," Oz laughed sweetly. "And boy, the way he talked made it seem like he disliked you more than me!"

Alice took a seat with Oz and me at the small, round tea table; said table had assorted sweets lined up all over, ready for eating. Break was still on his bed while Sharon sat next to him on the sofa.

"Elliot…? Been a while since I spoke to that moron…" I muttered, remembering that bitter and annoying face of his. I held back a smile, happy to know he was still alive and well enough to go around criticizing others.

"How's Leo? Did you see him, Oz?"

"Yeah, I did! He told me to give you his regards. Not just for him, but for Elliot, too."

"Say… Elliot doesn't like the Vessalius house, does he?" I continued. "Or that's what I was told."

"He doesn't, but I think we're slowly turning into friends. I'm actually excited about it," Oz cheered. "He even said he doesn't care whether I'm a Vessalius or not."

"Heh, really?" I smirked. "Looks like he did a poor job at trying to cover himself up. I guess he isn't as mean as I thought… but watch me regret saying that when I meet him next. Speaking of that, I should go to the Nightrays again sometime to pay him a visit."

"That seems interesting. Take me with you~!" cheered the blond. Alice leaned her hand in her palm and eyed us with suspicion. Gilbert stood at our side, pulling one arm to his hips and standing coolly.

"He didn't… make fun of me _too_ much, did he?" I cocked a crooked smile.

"Well…"

NARRATOR POV:

Oz crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, taking some time to think. Alva awaited his reactions, leaning her chin onto the table and fiddling around with her hair. Oz quickly snapped his fingers as if he successfully recalled something, exchanging glances with the female once again.

"Oh, I remember! It was like this…"

And so the story began.

"_Elliot, I just… I just want to be friends with you!" Oz stuttered, letting tears escape him like an overgrown child. Elliot's mouth dropped open as he stared at the Vessalius heir with disgust._

"_What the hell are you talking about!" he screamed. "You're just as annoying as that Alva person!" he said the last sentence to himself, looking away rather uncomfortably._

_The tears came to a halt as Oz regained himself._

"_Alva person… you mean Alva-chan?"_

"_Oh, you know her? No wonder you're both so annoying," he smirked in victory, making Oz flinch just slightly. "I guess she rubbed off on you."_

"_Hey, Alva-chan is actually really nice. You're the one that's mean! Right, Alice, Gil?" _

_Alice just stared at her servant, trying not to raise a brow at their sudden bickering. _

"_Uh… I guess."_

"_See!"_

_Gil blinked and nodded once, not really listening to what was going on as he had been busying himself with the dead-weight known as Break who lay limp on his back._

"_Y-You're siding with him now, too, Gilbert?" whined Elliot, turning over to the black-haired man before turning back to Oz. "I'm only mean to you people because I don't like you! Get the message!"_

_He pointed at Oz while bearing fangs like a vampire._

"_Elliot, come on-"_

_Elliot cut him off immediately, never dropping his angry demeanor._

"_Don't casually call me by my name, you retard!"_

_Oz was shocked and retreated into the wall, crying anime tears while and dropping his hands to his sides. Gilbert finally seemed to settle into the conversation, as he called out Elliot's name in frustration, hinting that he wasn't quite satisfied with his relative's actions._

"_That's so mean, Elliot…!" Oz continued._

"_I don't care if it is! I don't care how mean that Alva person is or if you're a Vessalius or not… just seeing you guys pisses me off!"_

_Oz's block of ice melted as he looked Elliot straight in the eyes; instead of tears, there was now a look of sincerity and happiness on the blond boy's face. Elliot countered by raising a brow and turning away with a blush._

"_W-What are you looking at me that way for?" he stuttered._

"_You don't care about what we are…?" replied Oz. "You really can be a nice guy!"_

"_Pbbfffft! Be quiet!" _

ALVA'S POV:

"And that's how I remember it…" Oz finally finished, bringing a finger to his chin. "See, so he doesn't actually hate us. He's just really bad at expressing his emotions."

I was surprised – did Elliot really not hate me as much as I thought he did? Truthfully, I harbored no dislike for him either, but nonetheless, it was so strange to think of Elliot as a non-hateful person. I had to give Leo praise next time I saw him for being able to handle the Nightray boy so well.

"I'm… surprised," I admitted. "But I bet he still hates me even if part of him thinks he doesn't."

"Oh, what are you all talking about~?" Break asked. "I feel so left out!" he pouted.

"Just stuff. You passed out at that time so you don't know about any of it."

"That's a cruel way to put it, Oz-kun."

He threw his small arms into the air, declaring with utmost confidence,

"It's true!"

We got engaged in conversation as the others settled, chatting amidst each other about their own things. Break held a conversation with Sharon, sitting with his knees upwards while Sharon ate cake and, of course, sipped some tea. Reim stood by himself for a moment but was quickly sucked into the chat by the Rainsworth princess, who gave him no choice but to accept.

I closed my eyes and let the voices flood my ears; everyone were so involved in their conversations that I almost didn't realize I was the only one staying silent.

"Lacie?"

"Damn, there's no more meat…"

"Phillip West, too…"

"So then our paths separated…"

And so on. I started losing track after a while; it was hard to keep up with so many conversations at once.

I noticed Break trying to reach for a slice of cake but failing. Sighing and taking it upon myself to help, I picked the most delicious-looking slice from the table and carried it over to his bed, sitting down on its edge in the process.

"Oh, you forgot the spoon~" he said innocently.

I popped a vein.

I pulled his ear closer to myself and whispered angrily into it,

"I'm not your damn slave."

"Oh, really? Even after… last night?" he mimicked by whispering the last portion huskily into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I freaked.

"N-No… don't talk to me that way! And it wasn't 'last night', it was like an hour ago!"

Break just laughed and snaked his arm around my neck, nuzzling closer to me with the most ridiculous grin one could muster. Everyone turned around and watched like they were in a movie theater, with Sharon blushing heavily at the sight.

I hoped to God they didn't hear what Break whispered to me.

"Since when did Alva and the clown get so close?" Alice finally spoke, making me feel slightly nostalgic as she hadn't actually said my name in a while. "And why does he seem so happy? Can you make a guy happier by doing that too, Sharon? All I know is you have to bite their cheek… is there more?"

"N-Now, Alice-san… I think it's too early for you…"

"To early for me what? I'm old enough!"

Oz and Reim sweatdropped in unison.

"N-No, it's just…"

"All they're doing is putting their faces together! Does more body heat make a guy happy or something?" she asked innocently. I held in my laughter.

"But really, Alva-chan, why are you so close to Break…!" Oz cried anime tears. "What about me…!"

"It's unfortunate, Oz-kun, but you'll have to find another 'target'," Break smirked and flapped his sleeve, still maintaining his grip on me.

"There goes a cute girl…" Oz mused.

"O-Oz… just forget about it," Gilbert reassured. I couldn't help but snort, wondering if Gilbert wanted Oz to swoon over _him_ instead. It seemed like a plausible idea.

"Geez, Break, you're in your own world, huh?" Gil questioned with an arm on his hip. "Why did you even come to Sablier? Was it really to rescue us?"

Break grinned with a cat-like mouth, doing a peace sign.

"Of course. I came to rescue you."

I crooked smile made its way onto my face as I arched my head to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"_Yeah… right."_

Break had already finished the slice of cake I brought him and moved onto other things. He reached for some biscuits on the table, struggling to find their location. I grunted and narrowed my eyes in worry, hoping no one would find out. My own expression quickly shifted to sadness as I watched him battle his blindness and eventually end up as the victor.

Oz stared at him.

"Ah-"

Break quickly brought a finger to his mouth, shushing the boy immediately. The white-haired man then let go of me and got up, clapping his hands together to get everyone's undivided attention.

"All right, everyone! Someone's still very tired because of a certain event-" And then I went red again. "-so he wants all you youngsters to leave. Alva-san can stay, though! And perhaps even Reim-san, too. I'm picking favorites tonight~ I'd let ojou-sama stay, but she needs to explain some things to these children."

"For the last time, Break, it's not _night_, it's _morning_," I said in annoyance.

Everyone blinked and exchanged glances with one another, shrugging their shoulders and getting up to leave.

"Sleep well, Break," Sharon gave him a bow.

"Yeah, try not to die in your sleep, clown," added Alice.

"Alice, that's mean," came Oz's reply.

And of course, Gilbert was last to say something.

"Y-Yeah… sleep well, Break."

Reim puffed himself up and brought his hands to his hips, leaning towards Break in a scolding manner.

"You just want to postpone writing your report," he said amidst a sigh.

"I would _never_ think of making you, Reim-san, do it for me!" Break laughed, landing in his bed. My body jumped up a bit from the impact of his body against the rest zone, as I had still been sitting on it.

"What's up with that?" Oz sighed, following the others as they headed out. "Fine, though… rest up, Break."

Oz headed out once he finished his line; I waved goodbye to them all and within moments, they were gone. Reim seemed to trail along after Oz and stopped at the door – I couldn't quite tell what he was doing, but from the looks of it, he seemed to be talking to Oz. I decided this was my cue and got up off the bed, only to have my wrist grabbed by Break.

"I didn't say you could leave, did I~?" he laughed innocently. "We've got some bonding to do~"

I looked away in annoyance. I coughed to adjust my voice.

"We already bonded… what more do you want, you pervert?" I glared at the wall, trying to sound as prideful as Alice usually did. I'd be damned if I wasn't a deeper red than a tomato right now.

"More bonding, please~"

"_N-No_!"

By now, Reim had returned, walking up to the two of us solemnly. Break loosened his grip on me and sadly looked Reim in the eyes.

"Oz seems to have noticed… he's quite a perceptive kid," Break smiled painfully. "But you, too? Didn't think you'd find out that quickly. You're all grown up now-"

Before Break could finish, Reim swiftly picked up the same purple candy I brought for Break and tossed it into his face, causing the hatter to flinch and fall back, barely regaining his composure in time.

"Didn't Shelly-sama always say food is for eating, not throwing…?" smirked Break.

Reim ignored him, putting his gloved hand in front of the man's face and waving it around.

"Xerxes… you really can't see a thing?"

I looked down as Break gave off a melancholy smile; he jerked his head to the right with the bed sheets over him like a cape once again. Reim kneeled down next to him and began making ridiculous faces. It started with him pulling down his eyelids to funny-looking bird faces until Break finally caved in, hitting him back with his foot.

"W-What's that about?" Reim whined as he fell back. "You can see after all!"

"That's not it; you're a moron," Break sighed. "I can feel what you're trying to do from your breath."

"B-Breath…?"

"Exactly. I'm not completely blind; I can't distinguish faces, but I can tell what something is if it's placed in front of me, though I'll probably lose that ability soon enough…" he trailed off.

"I'm surprised you're being so calm about it," spoke Reim.

"Me too," I added dolefully, glaring at the side of Break's face. He kicked his feet around as he sat on the bed.

"You'd think I'd panic? My whole body is withering… I was surprised I had the energy to-"

I clasped his mouth shut; it was still hard to even touch him without feeling embarrassed.

"Will you please… shut up?"

Reim blinked, inquiring,

"What?"

Break decided to 'do the honors' by pulling me close to him and doing a victory sign with his hands.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering what it's like to be a daddy~"

I froze in my spot as if I were stuck in a block of ice. He did _not_ just say that… and to _Reim_ of all people. I mean, fine, say it to Alice since she's clueless, but not to Reim the Observant One!

"Y-You idiot, that's not going to happen!" I seethed in embarrassment.

Reim went red, himself. Seemed he had finally caught on.

"I… I don't need to know that, Xerxes! I really don't!" he yelled weakly, tugging on his hair. "God, you're so… ugh… and weren't you _injured_? How did- ugh, nevermind. Please don't answer that."

"Can we get back on topic…?" I begged, inching behind Break in embarrassment. I didn't want Reim to see me now – he probably hated me.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry…" Reim coughed into his hand shyly. "U-Um, well… Xerxes… I'll write your report for you since you need time to get used to your condition."

"Are you sure, Reim-san…? You don't have to-"

"No, I'm sure," he cut Break off. "You always push your work onto me anyway, so there isn't a difference. I also don't want Sharon-ojousama to cry, so…"

"You guys sure are good friends," I said near-sarcastically. "But that's nice of you, Reim."

"It's my job, Alva-san," he said quietly as he quickly took some notes, tapping the small notepad with his pen.

"Yeah, since you're the advisor to this house and all…" Break replied, throwing Reim into a fit of fury. He was walking to the doorknob and froze midwalk upon hearing the remainder of Break's sentence.

"That's not what I meant! I'm saying this as your _friend_! Xerxes… you _**idiot**_!"

Both Break and I stared with wide eyes, taken aback by his words. Reim smashed the door in our faces, disappearing from sight.

"You… really made him mad, Break," I raised an eyebrow. "You need to learn to be social."

He merely brought his knees towards his head as he sat up on the bead, sighing quietly.

"He's used to it~"

"Hm…" I muttered, staring at him as I pulled one of my feet up onto the bed. Break smiled, looking away so I wouldn't notice. Of course, he didn't do a very good job at hiding it.

"Thank you… Reim…" he whispered as quietly as possible, unearthing the smile I'd been holding back. Break really was a good guy.

"So… can I leave now?" I pleaded.

"Oh, perhaps. It's hard to decide what I want to do with you. Right, Emil-"

"She isn't here. You probably left her in another room," I reminded. He turned his head a little to the right like a confused child, staring at me.

"…I suppose that's a good thing, otherwise she would've witnessed something~"

Again with the comical remarks. I hit him over the head, watching him grab the area in pain. I prepared to hit him again because I didn't like the retarded look he gave me, but he ducked out of the way and smiled, placing his head on my lap.

"You missed~!" he said happily while waving his opened palms in front of him.

I grunted, crossing my arms and ignoring the too-close-for-comfort contact we were making.

"Break, you're really bipolar, you know that? I don't understand what the hell is wrong with you, but it's like you're high one moment and totally fine the next."

He faked tears, staring at me from his position on my lap.

"How cruel you are. But I still love you~"

"_Eh? That was the first time he told me something like that…" _I spoke to myself, eyes wide in surprise.

He waved his feet around, half-closing his eye and bringing his sleeves together like some monk. I wondered, past all that childish acting… did he want me to speak up about my feelings, too?

Well, I guess I had to do it sooner or later.

"Break?" I asked.

"Hmm?" came his reply as he looked up at me, legs freezing in midair.

"I love you, too," I said proudly, practically steaming from my nose. I felt so good about myself right then and there – I was finally able to get it out. He looked surprised, but I cut him off before he could say anything with a: "But you're still an annoying stalker Cyclops."

"Touché."

"Hell, you even admitted it!" I snorted. "And wow… I just realized those guys didn't dismantle all my cranes. Would've thought they'd trample them, but… they're safe. I didn't quite get to make a thousand of them, but…"

"Oh, so you planned to wish for me to get better?" he tapped my nose. "Well, that was wasted effort. I'd have gotten better regardless."

"Wow, thanks. Thanks a lot," I rolled my eyes. "Some gentleman you are."

His hands crept around my neck, playing with my hair. Ever since the 'incident' from earlier, he'd become a little more outward with his actions. I twitched and tried to pull back.

"Ask first…!"

"I need to ask even after what we did? If ojou-sama were to find out, she'd kill me because she claims it's a taboo… so don't tell her."

I looked away to hide my embarrassment.

"I didn't plan on it, anyway… she isn't my mother."

I had more to say, but the sound of wheels snapped me out of my trance. I walked up to the window, shoving Break's head out of my lap, noticing the presence of a carriage outside.

"Hey, it's Oz and the rest… I think they're going somewhere," I said. "And Sharon's with them."

Break stayed silent.

"Where is ojou-sama going…?" he immediately asked me.

"I don't know, but it's rare for her to venture out with Oz. I think this is important."

Break gripped the bedsheets and lifted himself up off the bed, allowing his feet to meet the floor as he tried to balance himself. He was still very shaky.

"Break, you're not in a good condition! You can't go after her!"

"Ojou-sama is still a young girl… she could be in danger," he said near-seriously, looking me in the eyes. I rubbed my forehead at his stupidity. He tried to walk past me to get to the door, but I blocked it, giving him a hard stare. He nearly smashed into the wall anyways since he wasn't quite healthy enough to be able to discern where it was.

"She isn't a little girl anymore. She will learn from her mistakes and become stronger because of them. Let her go."

"My, you're growing up just like Reim-san. But I don't think I can-"

He collapsed onto his knees before he could finish, gripping his chest. I sighed and ran up to him, lifting his head by the chin and feeling his forehead.

"I told you, you're not ready. You just regained consciousness."

He smirked and said nothing; instead, he merely looked towards the direction of the window. I did the same for a split second before returning my attention to the man before me. I helped lift him up, sitting him back down onto the bed.

"Now stay here. It'll be fine."

"…I don't know if I can, but I'll try~"

"I'm watching you, so don't move," I demanded. "Chasing after her will only make her more worried. Let her develop on her own; she can't always have you watch her."

Break plopped down onto the bed and covered his face with his pillow. I popped a vein and picked up the second pillow near him, trying to suffocate him. He pretended like he was dying but mumbled out from underneath the pillow,

"Juft kidin~"

"Oh, I know you are. I wouldn't try to suffocate you if you'd actually die from it."

A knock on the door was heard. I did the honors and allowed the one on the other side entry. I was greeted with a stranger I didn't recognize – probably another one of the maids. She bowed before placing a letter in my lap and walking away. Break and I both blinked curiously; he inched closer to the sheet as I tore it open and read over its contents.

"It's a letter… from Duke Nightray," I started. "He's offering me access to his library so I can research my chain."

This hit me like a brick. I forgot Elliot suggested I read up on my chain; it completely escaped me. Was I really that distracted by all of these events, or… was I finding happiness in the person I am now and not wanting to deal with the past anymore?


	16. UPDATE

Hi guys! Just letting you know I'm not dead and am slowly getting back to writing my Break story in full swing! Look forward to more chapters soon! :3


	17. Scroll XVI

The rain came pouring down as I quietly watched through the carriage window, leaning against the cold wooden walls and trying my hardest not to fall asleep. We were almost at the proper destination – where my journey, filled with many ups and downs – began. The Nightray house was only a few minutes away.

I took a deep breath as the carriage approached the gate of the dark mansion. Scooting over to the door, I thanked the driver with a nod. He responded by leaving his seat and, of course, escorting me out of the carriage like a proper gentleman.

"Thank you," I said again.

Before I knew it, the carriage was out of sight and I was on my own. Thankfully I had an umbrella.

"All right…" I told myself out loud, taking yet another deep breath. "Been a while since I was here, but I may as well read up on Sablier and other things so I can be fully prepared."

Taking the end of my own sentence as my cue, I rang the loud bell of the front gate, watching the large doorway almost immediately open, creaking eerily as it did so. Goosebumps instantly went up my spine; dismissing this, I slowly walked forward and up the steps to the front door, which had conveniently opened on its own as I neared it.

"Wow," I said as I walked forward into the mansion, looking around. "This is still as- oof!"

I fell back but felt something strong grab me before I could trip and break my back.

"Uh, s-sorry… wait, Elliot?"

The brown-haired Nightray did not reply, heaving an annoyed sigh instead as he looked at me.

"Oh, that's how you greet me. I see how it is." I raised a brow as I spoke.

"Well, you weren't even looking where you were going!" he barked back, holding the candle in his hand firmly. "But I was told to escort you to the library since you were coming, so whatever."

"No hello or anything? You're just going to escort me?"

"I think I won't do more than escort since you apparently don't know enough manners to watch where you're going."

"Elliot!" I yelled, my hair almost flaming up from anger. "It was an accident! A-c-c-i-d-e-n-t! Just get over it! Why do you never change?"

"Just follow me. We'll talk on the way."

His tone made me relax just a bit, wondering what had been up with him. It was definitely a quick change in attitude. His own expression relaxed and the boy turned around, walking off into the distance of the dimly lit mansion. I quickly chased after, agreeing to myself that this was no time to argue.

"So…" I said awkwardly as I walked behind him. "How have things been here with you?"

"Fine.." he said quietly. "Everything's been the same."

"Even after that problem at Sablier a little while ago?"

"You heard about that..?" he choked out, trying to keep his voice down but to no avail.

"Yeah, and I also heard what you said about me from Oz."

"O-Oh.. well," he replied awkwardly, squinting a bit and avoiding looking at me. Now it was my turn to sigh. We made a right turn down the next hallway as soon as he said this.

"Anyway, how has Leo been?" I added excitedly, picturing the gentle boy with glasses as these words escaped my mouth.

"He's been fine. We all have been fine. Geez, you're such an annoyance," exclaimed Elliot, making an anger vein pop up on my head. Before I could yell back at him, he stopped in his tracks. "Library's here. Help yourself."

The moment he opened the door was the moment my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. This was my first time being inside the Nightray's main library – it was much, much smaller than the mini library I'd been in when I entered this mansion for the first time.

"Surprised?" he smirked. "You should be."

"…I am," I admitted, making my way to the nearest bookshelf and reading through several titles. Already I was already finding many books that would interest me. Before I knew it, Elliot took a seat at the regal-looking table, fit to seat at least a hundred, reading a book he had picked out.

I chose to ignore him and dug through the collection.

While there were many interesting books, nothing I _truly_ wanted was here, so I made my way up the stairs. Before I could take another step, I noticed an odd glint in the corner of my eye.

"This…" I mumbled, walking up to a beautiful, crimson-colored book with bronze lettering on the front. "This book called to me."

"…what the hell are you talking about, Alva?" Elliot muttered from downstairs. "It's a book. It can't call to you."

"Well, it did, and I'm reading it."

I knew I was getting on his nerves, since he sighed for probably the hundredth time. I quickly ran down the stairs and took a seat across from him.

"What is that book even about?" he continued, raising an eyebrow as he looked away from his book and at me.

"It's about the weakest chains in the Abyss," I began, flipping through the pages.

"…does that even matter to you right now?" he buried his face in his palm as he said this.

I tried to ignore him, fully knowing that he was right. The library was amazing, but I felt so uneasy being in the Nightray mansion; it sent shivers up my spine. Something definitely did not feel right for me, so taking my worries out on a random book seemed like the best option.

"Hey," he said firmly, positioning his head neatly on the palm of his hand. "What's been bothering you?"

I knew he'd notice eventually. Since there was turning back at this point, I gently placed my book down on the table and looked this sharp Nightray in the eye. I bore my gaze into his eyes for a brief moment before finally deciding to talk – I could trust Elliot, after all. I knew I could.

"I'm just… worried. I feel like something is going to go wrong. Everything we've been encountering up until now almost feels like a stepping stone to something very, very bad…"

"I.. can't say I disagree with you. But we'll be fine. Pandora can handle these things and so can we."

Elliot was being… very calm about this. His worry was somewhat apparent regardless, but the boy had been doing a good job at covering himself up.

"Thanks, Elliot. You're smarter than you look," I gave him a devilish smile as I spoke.

"W-What?! That's not a compliment, moron!"

And then the arguing commenced once again. Fortunately, I wasn't quite in the mood to bark back, so I got up from my seat, heading for the exit.

"Where are you going, woman?"

_Here we go with being called woman again. He has so many nicknames for me it isn't funny._

"I'm leaving. For some reason I feel very homesick right now. But thank you, Elliot. I appreciate you helping me out with things," was my only reply. I did not feel like giving any further explanation since such a thing was unnecessary; this truly was why my reason for leaving.

"…your personality changes too fast, stupid. Tell that Vessalius kid that he's an idiot for me, will you?"

I twitched.

"What a great message to pass on, Elliot. What a great, great message."

Once that was said, I hastily headed out the door. I could tell he was watching me up until the very last second until I was entirely out of sight. I almost felt upset that he didn't offer to-

"Wait..!"

_Well, I think it's about time someone handed me my 'predicting the future' award._

"Let me show you the way out or you'll get lost since you're so stupid."

_Guess this is his way of being nice._

"Thanks, dumby. I totally couldn't have found the exit myself. Because, you know, this definitely isn't my second or third visit here or anything."

"S-Sometimes I want to hit you! Geez, I'd say forget I offered, but just follow me – the mansion's big and there should be a carriage outside waiting for you. This way you'll be out of here faster and I won't have to see you," he shot back.

We quickly made our way out with neither of us saying another word. I was very happy to see it was no longer raining – the sky was as clear as crystal. Admiring the beauty of nature almost made me forget where I had been and where I was intending to go.

"Well…" the boy next to me stated almost shakily. "There's your ride, so I guess this is it. Until next time?"

I then did something that surprised even me – I smiled at him. Despite all our arguments, I could tell we were close friends.

What surprised me was he smiled back, but then caught himself and hastily turned around to avoid my gaze in embarrassment. He then curled his hand into a fist and lifted it up in the air; I knew what this meant even though it was my first time seeing it. I curled my own hand into a fist and bumped it against his.

"See you later, stupid," I said with a crooked smile.

"You too, moron," he replied back, avoiding my gaze. I then walked down the steps, clinging tightly to my umbrella, and climbed into the carriage. In just a few seconds, I was on my way home, staring at Elliot outside the window, who continued to avert his gaze away from me. He certainly was shy, but that was just how he was.

Watching the mansion get further and further out of sight made me drowsy. I tried to keep my eyes open but to no avail - before I knew it, I was on my way on a trip to my dreams. Goodness knows how much time had passed, but for some reason it felt like eternity.

Suddenly, that all changed.

"Huh? What is-"

_CRASH!_

"Oh god, what's going on!" I yelled, waking up immediately and flailing around like a maniac. "It feels like we're going down a very rocky hill! Driver, what's happening?!"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am," spoke the man driving the carriage. "One of the horses seems to have gone out of control!" Speaking worriedly, I could hear the man's worried breathing as he tried to calm down the wild animal.

I rushed out of the carriage and looked around at my surroundings in panic; since the carriage had been going through the forest, we had to be at the halfway point between the Nightray and Rainsworth households.

I stepped forward towards the panicking animal, wondering what was making it behave this way.

Before I knew it, the ground started to shake once again. A hole opened up in the ground, allowing something to pass through it, making my heart sink. This familiar feeling.. I recognized it!

"W-What's that monster?!" the driver yelled, latching onto the reins. The panic caused the horse to rip through its reins, running off into the forest. The middle-aged man's expression shifted from worry to absolute fear, eyes widening at what was before him.

"A chain!" I yelled, instantly turning around to the distraught carriage driver. "Get out of here, now!"

He didn't even need to give it a second thought; the dark-haired man dashed in the opposite direction towards the mansion while screaming in panic, leaving me behind with an empty carriage. I stepped back against a tree, realizing how bad my situation was.

"Crap…" I sucked my teeth while looking at the large hedgehog staring at me with intense animosity. It began its charge almost instantly, lunging at me with full force; all I could do was run. Barely making it away from its first attack, I ran further into the forest, not even thinking of where I was going.

The chain followed closely behind me, tearing through trees and bushes as it followed suit.

_Maybe now's a good time to see if I had lost the menace yet…_

I turned around and at that very moment, thanks to my being distracted, I felt myself trip and hit the cold ground.

"Uuugh… my nose.."

Barely getting my behind up from pain, I realized there was no turning away now. The fierce chain looked at me angrily, standing overhead while its shadow clouded me completely.

_I have to use him… I don't want to, but I have to. The only problem is… he won't listen to me…_

_Oh my god.. I'm going to be killed…_

The next thing I remember was the chain lunging forward without any hesitation. I closed my eyes, awaiting my death as the creature's claws pierced through the air.

Time seemed to stop at that very moment. I kept my eyes closed for what felt like hours. It was quiet.. too quiet.

_Why.. isn't anything happening? _

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. I assumed I had been dead, that did not seem to be the case; the scenery was familiar. I had not moved from my spot.

I had to do a double take to realize the ground around me was almost entirely covered in blood.

"W-What is…"

The leaves of the surrounding trees were soaked with the red liquid, dozens of blood-coated bushes were flattened, and the ground looked like someone was ripped to shreds. The scenery was the most gruesome I had ever seen.

I brought my hands to my mouth, holding in the desire to throw up. This was sickening…

_Did I… I couldn't have been the one to do this.. could I? Lucifer didn't show up.. I didn't see him…_

I tried to shake off the feeling, forcing my body up with whatever energy I had left. My eyes were still blood-shot from panic and my breathing heavy.

I could not even say a word. Shakily and slowly, I began walking…

ELSEWHERE, THIRD PERSON POV:

"Xerxes," called a familiar voice. "Are you in there?"

"No, no, I am not!" sang Break, causing the man behind the door to heave a long, dragged-out sigh.

"Since I can hear you, I will come inside now," Reim added, gently pushing open the door only to be met with a certain gray-haired man sitting atop a small table, chewing on a piece of candy. "W-What are you doing there? But I'm not surprised…" Reim looked away as he spoke.

"Reim-san seems stressed out~" Break joked, flapping his sleeve as usual.

"I am not, Xerxes. I am just here to tell you that the reports I promised to finish for you due to your poor eyesight have been completed and reported in a timely manner, meaning you do not have any more work to finish at this time," spoke the well-educated man with glasses. "And Sharon-ojousama asked me to pass a message onto you regarding a future Pandora meeting."

"Ojou-sama is too busy to tell me herself?" pouted Break in response. "That's no good~"

"Regardless, Xerxes, you should be glad she made it back with Oz-sama and the rest safely. You are…" Reim took a short pause. "..such a hassle!"

"But don't you like me that way?" he merely questioned, as if intending to get on the Pandora member's nerves. Reim held his nose bridge down in annoyance.

"By the way, Xerxes.. where is Alva-san? It certainly has been a while."

"Oh?" spoke Break, eyeing around the room. He then jumped off the table, looking under the bed.

Reim nearly dropped his clipboard and shakily yelled out a, "W-Why would she be there?!"

"Hm, who knows! Alva-san certainly is a surprising one," he pouted, upset Reim was questioning his actions. "But she has not been here for many hours. Even the lady managed to return quicker, which is somewhat surprising as we know she loves to take her time."

"Maybe you should've arranged for a bodyguard…"

"Maybe you should have~"

"I was busy writing _your _report, Xerxes!"

"Well…" Break spoke almost seriously, walking towards the window with Emily sitting firmly on his shoulder. "This certainly is worrying."

Reim straightened his body and looked at the back of the man's head, instantly regaining composure. The two stood in silence for a brief moment.

The man with glasses opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a familiar voice from outside the half-open door.

"A-Alva-chan?! What's wrong with you!"

"Is that.. Oz-sama?" Reim spoke, quickly walking towards the door and pulling it open.

ALVA's POV:

"Yes, Oz," I sighed in annoyance, holding my torn shirt together. "It's me. Can I get through? It's been ages and I need a shower. Please."

"B-But what happened to you! You're a mess and covered in blood!" said the worried blond, pressing on.

I smiled at him; it was impossible to hate the boy, as he was very kind. But I really, really needed to get myself cleaned up right now. I was surprised none of the maids had seen me in this condition. Well, at least they'd take notice when seeing the stained carpets.

"Thank you, Oz.. but let me clean up first. I'll tell you later."

He hesitantly agreed and moved out of the way, allowing me to pass. I took one more step forward before being stopped once again.

"Alva-san…! You're.." Reim spoke as he pushed open the door.

I looked away.

"Hello, Reim. Didn't expect to see you here.. but yes, I know, I'm a mess. I'll be fine, so please give me some space."

As if on cue, Break showed up out of thin air right behind me, tapping the back of my head. My eyes widened a bit as I turned around, looking directly at him. It felt like... it was at least a year since we last saw each other. My entire existence almost felt erased for the duration of time I was away from the mansion.

"Alva-san, it's not ladylike to run off on your own."

"I…" I began, almost losing the words. "I know. I'm sorry."

I had to hold back crying as it was not like me. I looked down at the messy carpet, hiding my emotions from Break and everyone else.

"Please just let me through."

No one said a word. I kept my gaze away from the group but could feel their gaze fixated on me as I ran forward and disappeared from their sight.

"I feel so different.. why? I swear this feels like some teenage sob story.." I told myself quietly as I ran. Surprisingly, despite barely paying attention to where I was going, I managed to make it to my room; I must have known the way well enough already.

Without saying a word, I loudly shut the door and buried my face into my pillow. I didn't want to admit to myself that I was crying.. but I was.

Everything felt so terrifying. I felt like I almost did not belong here.. like I was a murderer that was better off taken into custody. Now I know how Break must have felt in the past; it was nothing short of a horrendous feeling.

I felt the bed shake while I was drowning in my own misery but tried to ignore it, assuming my depression was causing me to hallucinate. However, I was wrong – a certain familiar presence popped out from under the bed.

I instantly knew who it was but chose to ignore the presence, pulling the sheets over myself.

"Good morning," Break said in a somewhat calm tone. I ignored him, hearing the man sit down next to me.

"Mphhmmmh," I mumbled.

"That's not a spoken language, Alva-san. I'm afraid I do not have the capabilities to decipher what you are saying."

Pulling my head out of the pillow just a tiny bit, I whispered, "go.. away.."

"Oh? Are you sure you want that?" he joked, bringing a sleeve to his mouth.

I ignored him once again.

"Alva-san…" he began. "What is the matter?"

I really couldn't hold it in anymore, so I started bawling right into the pillow. It took me a moment to realize my body had been trembling.

"N-Nothing.. something just happened earlier…" I finally spoke, pulling my head out of my warm sanctuary, noticing the sheets were rather bloody thanks to me. "I just.. I did something.. and I don't know why…"

Break looked at me with confusion. I looked at his single eye, wondering how he was still so perfect at tracking me down when he had been near-blind.

"But you are back safely, are you not?"

I froze. He was right.. I was. I hadn't lost everything.

"You still have all of your friends right there, as ojou-sama would say, so you didn't really lose anything, Alva-san," he cracked a cocky smile as he spoke, as usual. "So whatever this little issue is, I'm sure we can all work it out~"

"It's not actually a 'little' issue, but.." I slowly got up and threw myself right into his embrace with whatever energy I had left to muster. "..thank you, Break.."

He seemed confused at first, but soon I could feel his arm press gently against my back and instantly got nervous the moment I realized what I had done. I quickly pulled away from a very confused Break.

"I-I'm sorry!" I flailed my arms in panic. "I didn't mean to do that…!"

"Is that so..? But I'm sure you did~" he began.

"She's shy, she's shy!" added Emily, making me redden even more. "How pathetic!"

"Now, Emily…" responded Break joyfully.

It was harder to redeem myself when Emily.. when that _thing_… joined in on the conversation. I felt so cornered.

"Now, now…" I heard Break begin, pushing me down onto the floor. I winced a bit, but thankfully it was not too painful, otherwise he would have reconsidered choosing the floor over the bed.. I think. "I believe someone needs a time out."

"B-Break, get off of me!" I choked out in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice. "I'm not in the mood for this crap!"

"I'm sure you are…~"

"I'm not!"

"You are~"

"I'm _not_…!"

Before he could respond, the door squeaked open and a certain young-looking lady stepped into the room. She stood there, flustered, for a brief moment.

"B-Break, this is _unacceptable_!" she yelled, pulling out her fan and whacking the gray-haired man harder than she had ever done before.

I crawled away and innocently climbed up onto my bed, trying to ignore what just happened. Sharon was not paying attention to me in the least, focusing all her anger towards the Pandora member before her. Luckily, she did not notice my current condition because of this.

I watched the girl continuously whack Break over the head. Break kept trying to apologize and held his arms in front of himself, but the lady ignored him and continued on with her barrage of attacks.

Regardless how bad our current situation was, I couldn't help but smile. I was happy.. even if it was only temporary.


	18. Scroll XVII

**PPC: Thanks so much everyone for the reviews, story alerts, and favorites! =D It makes me really happy knowing there are people out there that still enjoy this even though it's almost been three years since I started writing it~**

**On that note, as you can tell from reading this, I'm almost at the headhunter bit. Super excited to get there! **

I turned around as soon as I heard a peppy and familiar voice call out to me. It had been a few days since the incident regarding the chain that had appeared mysteriously in the middle of the forest. Since then, the majority of my time was spent staring out the window and exploring around the mansion. I was in my mode of "hibernation" once again in an attempt to regain myself.

It worked, for the most part, but Oz decided to barge in in the middle of my sorrow and question me on what had happened to me those days ago. Since I was feeling relaxed after a long rest, I told him.

Gilbert had recovered since the group's arrival; I didn't realize he had been exhausted from using Raven's power until I eased up a bit a few hours later and allowed Oz to give an explanation.

Things had calmed down for the most part, but something was bothering me. The mansion was oddly quiet; more so than I was used to.

And now I had been sitting here right next to Break, who had his legs up on the table and was staring at me a few feet away on the couch.

"So," he began. "That's quite a story you had to share, miss. It's a confusing scenario that I can't pinpoint the causes of myself, though I will assume it is due to your chain."

"Obviously," I sighed, avoiding his gaze. "You haven't been very useful."

I expected Break to give me a snarky reply in return, but that did not happen. He seemed more serious than usual, staring at me with an expression that almost sent shivers up my spine.

"W-What…?"

"Just thinking~" he said through an obviously fake smirk.

"Break…"

He really seemed to be into his thoughts, which worried me. Break should be happy-go-lucky and sarcastic – that was what fit him most. I got up and walked over to the white-haired contractor.

"Seeing you depressed is too out-of-character, you know?"

"What ever do you mean!" he began. "This man is perfectly fine~"

"You're obviously not, because you've… you've been neglecting me for a while."

"Oh? So are you saying I'm not giving you enough_ attention_?"

I sucked my teeth and looked away in embarrassment. Why did I admit this to him? He sure as hell looked like he felt victorious. But if it lightened up the tension… I wouldn't mind.

"_Maybe I should play along," _I told myself sneakily. _"Two can play at Break's game."_

"Y-Yeah… I'd like it if you could give me a little more attention. I've been really upset and having you around makes me feel a bit better," I said amidst a sigh. "Though I don't like to admit it."

"Hmmm? What form of attention would you like?"

"_Figures he would take this to a naughty level…"_

I had to try my hardest not to laugh at what I was about to say.

"How about some fun time?"

"Someone is very naughty today~"

I couldn't hold it in anymore and cracked up.

"I can't do this!" I yelled with tears in my eyes. "You're so fun to mess around with, Break…!"

"Ehh…?" he sweatdropped and brought his sleeves together. Even the mighty Break was capable of being tricked, and it made me feel all the more victorious to be able to fool someone like him. "That's cruel, Alva-san… but.."

My laughter started to subside as soon as I noticed him leaning over to me.

"H-Hey…!" was all I managed to choke out before he forced his lips on mine. His tongue began to creep into my mouth which instantly made my stomach flutter.

Suddenly the door opened and someone walked in. We were constantly being walked on, so in a way, I was not surprised, but…

"…what are you and the clown doing?!" spat Alice. "What the hell?!"

I pulled away from Break instantly since I knew he probably would want to stay like this just to embarrass me. He laughed in victory.

"You ass…" I shot an evil glare at the man besides me then quickly turned around to face Alice.

"Uhh, ummm…"

"Didn't ojou-sama teach you about these things before, Alice-kun~?" Break pitched in.

"Oh!" She put her right pointer finger up. "Is this when you bite someone's cheek to make them happy? But it wasn't on the cheek and didn't look like biting…"

"W-Well, it is biting. There are just different ways to do it," I continued.

I felt ridiculous treating her like a child. It really felt like we were explaining this to a five year old.

"Hmph," she crossed her arms in annoyance. "Whatever. I don't really care, but I'm here to tell you guys that the food's done. Apparently I now qualify as the maid around here or something… why do I constantly have to pass messages to you guys?" she wandered off.

My stomach growled at the mention of food, earning me stares from the two in the room.

"Speaking of which, I'm hungry… you coming, Break?"

"Hm, I will pass for now. I'm not quite in the mood to eat anything other than candy."

"Isn't that how you are all the time? Surprised you're not dead."

"The world works in mysterious ways~"

I brought my palm to my head at his behavior.

"All right, but I'm going!"

Alice began to leave and I quickly followed after, leaving a quiet Break behind. The two of us made it to the dining hall quickly and were greeted with Oz, Gilbert, and Sharon. The black-haired contractor of Raven still looked exhausted; I felt really bad for him.

"Alva-chan!" Oz called. "Look at all this food!"

"You know, it's not like this deluxe food was hard to come by for someone like you… besides, you've been feasting here for months."

"Still, it tastes better than in the Vessalius house!"

"That's probably the 'food tastes better in someone else's home' mentality, Oz…"

And so our bickering began. Sharon was eating peacefully – as expected– even throughout all of our chatter. I sat to the right of Gilbert, who sat next to Oz, with Alice to the left of the rabbit. Sharon was all the way left next to Alice.

Alice chewed on her food like a pig and then blurted out with a full mouth, "Hey, pass me more meat, Oz."

Oz laughed innocently.

"Fine, fine. But you can't eat everything."

I didn't really like meat, but the Rainsworth household food was delicious. I silently ate my food as did almost everyone at the table – _almost_. Alice's loud chewing was the only sound to be heard outside the sounds of forks against plates.

I did not notice how awkward this scenario had become. Everyone's brief smiles were entirely upside down; even Sharon's. Was this… because of what Oz had told me earlier?

"_So…" began the blonde, fidgeting with his fingers as he sat in a chair. "And at the end of it all, I began feeling strange. It's like there was the pressure of a voice on me. It was the same as what we experienced back in Sablier… that earthquake-like sensation that made fear corrode us for a brief moment."_

_I blinked, trying to take this all in._

"_All of these things are all happening at once all of a sudden… what's going on?"_

I swallowed as I recalled that memory, looking down at my empty plate. Once again, our moment of happiness was nothing but brief.

I then heard someone barge through the exit, instantly capturing everyone's attention. A red-haired maid stood there with sweat going down her body and an arm clinging tightly to a platter.

"Sharon-ojousama…" she began. "We have received news that the headhunter is loose. Additionally, Sharon-ojousama, your grandmother wishes to see you in her room."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Headhunter….?" Sharon replied almost faintly, dismissing the request to meet with her grandmother.

"Yes. Several members and dukes of important households, notably the Nightray, have had their heads mysteriously cut off."

"…_.what…?"_

Gilbert slammed his fork down against the table and got up, sucking his teeth in anger.

"What about Vincent and Elliot?"he yelled. "Are they still alive?!"

"I… I have not heard anything about them," the maid replied back in fear at the man's outburst. I looked wide-eyed at Gilbert; Alice and Oz did the same.

"G-Gil…" Oz said, grabbing his sleeve. "Calm down. I'm sure they're fine…"

Gilbert's expression relaxed as he looked at the young boy's solemn face. He adjusted his collar and sat back down, avoiding everyone's gaze. The maid bowed and took her leave, taking our worried reactions as her cue.

"I'm going to see Vincent," Gilbert said simply, quickly taking his leave.

Alice did not like his rushed reaction and got up from her seat, pushing her palms against the long, wooden table. "H-Hey, seaweed head, slow down…! Are you going alone? Isn't it dangerous right now?"

He stopped at the door as Alice finished his sentence, back facing us.

"I don't care," replied Gilbert, walking out of our sight. I could have sworn I heard him mumble needing to ask Vincent about his past, but kept it to myself. Silence engrossed the room for a few more moments before someone pitched in,

"I need to see my grandmother," Sharon said quietly, getting up and crossing her arms in front of herself. "I'm sorry for the bother."

She briskly walked away and I couldn't help but feel compelled to go after her – and this was exactly what I did. I looked back at the remaining Oz and Alice, who exchanged awkward glances with me before I followed after Sharon, who did not seem to mind my companionship.

"Sharon…" I began, running after her to catch up. _"Geez, she's fast."_

"Yes?" replied the girl, not looking back at me.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she reassured, smiling gently. "The news is unfortunate, but for now I need to focus on seeing my grandmother. If she requested to speak with me, it must be important."

We arrived quickly, possibly due to how distracted I had been from today's events. I noticed Reim had been at the door and waved to him; the man only blinked and nodded in reply. Sharon bowed to Reim as well as the other guards surrounding him before entering the room.

I could only listen for now, as intruding would not be in my place. This was a matter that should be dealt with between Sharon and her family – intervening was not in my right.

"Reim…" I whispered to him. "What's going on?"

"I do not know," he whispered back as we leaned down to each other to keep our voices as quiet as possible. "I was not made aware of the reasoning behind the meeting between the lady and her grandmother. However, the news of the headhunter has already reached us in Pandora. I assume you have heard of this?"

"We have…" I began, sighing quietly. "I'm getting really worried."

We decided to stay quiet from then on, listening in to Sharon's conversation with her grandmother. I was surprised with the girl's side of the conversation; she admitted to being powerless yet did not want pity. Instead, she showed a desire to change and better herself so she could be more useful.

"_What in the world happened when they were gone…?" _I spoke inside my head. _"Whatever it is, I'm happy to see that Sharon finally realized this."_

"T-Thank you," Sharon only nodded with a smile, proceeding to walk towards the exit. Reim and I flinched, quickly standing upright so she did not have to see us talking amongst ourselves. She paused and smiled directly at us before walking away.

"I'm… glad she's happier," I admitted.

Reim adjusted his glasses and stood up firmly now that Sharon had been out of sight. The guards lined up around him.

"Excuse me," he began. "Now that Sharon has cleared up this issue with her family, I must request that you meet me in my office."

"Meet you in your office?" I repeated. "You're such a workaholic."

He blushed very lightly before adjusting his glasses was once – it was obvious by now that this was Reim's way to hide his embarrassment.

"Y-Yes, please meet me in my office. I have already arranged everything."

Reim headed right and I assumed I had to follow him. The guards were waved away by the man with glasses and they gave a firm bow before exiting, leaving the two of us alone. Reim walked to the main entryway before heading downstairs and making a left.

He took a deep breath and adjusted his collar. I didn't notice how much sweat had been covering his body until now.

"R-Reim… is something wrong?" I raised an eyebrow, touching his shoulder.

"N-Nothing…." he mumbled back shakily.

"_Guess there's nothing I can do about this. It's just how he is."_

Slowly he opened the door, walking in and leaning against the wall in nervousness. I was about to say something when the presence of a familiar figure caught my eye. I could almost… sense it.

"Elliot, Leo…!" I called. Elliot turned around to face me.

"Oh, it's you," he replied back and dropped his smirk. "I suppose Reim-san invited you as well?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure what this is about…"

"It's great to see you again, Alva-san," Leo pitched in with a smile. I couldn't help but blush a bit at his kindness. Elliot twitched at my response, making me somewhat confused.

"You too, Leo," I relied back. "Do you know why we're here? Speaking of, Gil rushed out to go find you guys since he was worried about the headhunter."

"Well, we're actually going to be meeting with Oz and the rest soon," Leo explained matter-of-factly.

Elliot placed his hands behind his head and half-closed his eyes, adding, "…whenever Gilbert gets back, I guess. He always gets so worried so I'm not really surprised he ran out like a dog."

This made the brown-haired Pandora member flinch.

"I-I apologize for not informing Gilbert of your presence," Reim simply apologized.

I chuckled almost uncomfortably.

"_Oh, so that's why he was so worried."_

Elliot merely nodded politely, accepting the apology.

"It's only been a little while since Gilbert left. Guess we have a lot of time to ourselves."

Reim regained part of his composure and adjusted his collar for what probably was the fifth time before walking up to us, serious expression in hand. The man took a seat, gesturing for us to come over.

"I apologize for bringing you all here so swiftly. If I had time to tell Gilbert that the both of you," he took a pause, looking towards Elliot and Leo, "would be here, then I am sure he would not have left in such haste. Again, I apologize. I have already sent some guards to retrieve him."

That statement made the stupidest smile creep onto my face.

"_Retrieve him almost makes Gilbert sound like a disobedient baby. Poor Gil."_

"Hey… what are you smiling about?" Elliot pitched in, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, nothing, sorry."

Leo was quietly cleaning his glasses to Elliot's right while Reim and I sat opposite of the two.

"So are we just going to sit here?"

"Actually," began the Pandora workaholic. "I think it's best to inform you three of certain matters. I'm sure Elliot-sama and Leo are aware of this, but in order to regain control of the doors leading to the Abyss, a particular set of keys are needed – these keys are owned by each of the main four duke houses," he began.

I was confused… I had not known this.

"Why are you telling me this, Reim?"

He took a long sigh, earning the man a confused stare from Elliot. Reim then continued with,

"This information is vital. As a member of Pandora, you should have been made aware long ago. It appears that we are getting to the point where danger is right outside our doorstep, more so than it had been previously. Knowing the reason for many of these incidents at the very least should be a given. You cannot be part of this if you do not even know your purpose for being here."

I nodded firmly. Elliot rolled his eyes at me, making me suck my teeth in annoyance.

"Yeah, and with this headhunter nonsense, I couldn't even get to Pandora without a bunch of escorts. I'm not even supposed to be here since I ran away from them."

"…."

"Ahahah…" Leo sweatdropped. "I wasn't very fond of the idea, but it had to be done."

Reim flinched just a bit when he heard this and ran for the door, pushing it open slightly and peeking out. He then sighed in reassurance and lightly closed it once again.

"Sorry for making you hide us, Reim-san," Leo said apologetically. "But anyway, while we wait, why not catch up with everything that has been happening? It's been a while."

"Good idea, Leo!" I replied. "I hope Elliot hasn't been torturing you. You look a little tired – I can almost sense the exhaustion from behind your glasses."

"What did you say?!" Elliot hissed.

"Exactly what you heard!"

"Shut up, woman! I don't need you trying to outsmart me!"

The arguments only continued from then on. The two of us bickered for what felt like hours before the tension eased and, to my surprise, things proceeded smoothly from then on. Elliot and Leo caught me up with what had been happening in their lives and I did the same.

Due to this, time passed much faster and Oz and the rest had arrived before we knew it.


	19. Scroll XVIII

"O-Oz, hey," I said to the blonde as he opened the door, Alice and Gilbert following closely behind. His expression changed from calmness to surprise.

"Hey.. wait," he blinked and pointed behind me. "Elliot!?"

"You're late, shorty," Elliot merely stated, giving him a half-lidded, uncaring look. Gilbert pointed at the brown-haired boy in anger, giving off a confused grunt.

"Why are you here?" he spoke, voice cracking just slightly.

Before anyone could respond, footsteps were heard. I blinked as Elliot and Leo suddenly dashed past me, almost knocking me down from my seat, and hiding behind a table.

"What are you-"

"Excuse me!" a middle-aged man barged in in panic. "Is Elliot-sama in here, by any chance?!"

"_...oh. So they're hiding."_

"N-No, they're not here!" a panicked Reim ran up to the man, waving his arms around in defense. Oz, Alice, and Gil couldn't do more than blink at the confusing sight. "But I'll let you know when I see them!"

And that was it. The man was shoved out the door, leaving us alone once again.

"...okay, so what was that all about?" I finally spoke up.

"Geez, you guys are weird," Alice added after me.

"Looks like Elliot ran away from home, huh?" Oz questioned, leaning down by the boy who was just barely coming out of the shelter of the table that he used as a hiding spot.

"Shut up, that's not it! I'm just here to gather information about the headhunter!"

"Headhunter..." I recalled out loud. "I'd like to know a bit more about this as well."

An exhausted Reim plopped down on the couch, heaving a sigh of relief. "Let's sit down and talk about all of this." And so we did.

Oz spoke about an incident that had occurred not too long ago. From the start of the headhunter's attacks to a box the blonde boy had received, with twenty-seven scraps of paper written in indecipherable characters and symbols. One image in particular caught the eye of those examining the box and its contents, one of whom was Duke Barma.

"And the symbol looked like this..."

Oz grabbed a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something. We all leaned over to have a look. I squinted.

"That... almost looks like a pillar with some eerie fog around it or something. What is it?"

"I don't know," he said without exchanging eye contact. "I can't tell."

Elliot brought his hand to his chin in thought, finally saying, "I feel like I've seen this before..."

"Really?! But.. what is it?" Oz asked.

Elliot curled his hand into a fist and hit the handle of his chair in anger. "Damn it, it's no use. I can't remember. But all I know..." he took a pause. "...is that the Baskervilles are thought to be in league with the headhunter. So, if we follow them..."

"We might be able to find the headhunter as well," Gilbert finished.

I felt goosebumps run up my spine, hoping we _wouldn't_ have to run into anyone. Gilbert proceeded to speak out,

"But anyway, it's dangerous. You should go back, Elliot... you don't even have a chain."

"Just because I don't have a chain doesn't mean I'm weak, Gilbert! They're no match for my sword! Don't big-brother me at a time like this!"

"...you use a sword?" I looked at him with an arched brow.

"Y-Yes. What of it?" His face turned a bit red as he spoke.

The tall, black-haired man would not even take notice of my speaking and instead proceeded to yell at Elliot, who hissed back in anger. Their quarrels almost got them into a fight when the two received a sharp karate chop to the heads, courtesy of Uncle Oscar.

"Why are you guys quarreling?! This isn't the time!" he yelled, waving his arms in the air. "Can't you feel the tension all over Pandora?"

"But-"

"No buts."

Oscar walked over to the window and opened it in delight.

"To help ease the tension, we're having a tea party!"

We all looked out the window, trying to decipher what he meant... and behold, there was indeed a party going on right outside.

"A party during this? Isn't that a bit weird?" was Alice's response. Such was a natural thing to bring up in this situation.

"Nonsense - let's go!"

And before we knew it, we had been outside among the happy chatter of many people. I felt slightly overwhelmed, sinking into a tree trunk and trying to avoid conversation with people I didn't know... because somehow I ended up alone. Looking away, I noticed Oz and Elliot sitting side by side. Elliot looked quite displeased; Oz was smiling, as usual, as the two spoke to each other.

I couldn't quite make out what they were saying but it made me smile to see them interact.

"Excuse me!" a female voice spoke, nearing me slowly. "You are miss Alva?"

"Yes.." I replied, caught slightly off guard. I looked over to the girl in front of me and immediately took notice of her similarity to Oz. "Are you.. Oz's sister?"

"Yes, I'm Ada Vessalius. It's great to meet you!" she said with a shy but large smile. I smiled, taking her hand. "Hopefully you've been enjoying your time here."

The conversation from then on continued. Before I knew it, several minutes had passed and we had spoken about at least ten different things. Ada waved goodbye and slowly made her way over to her brother, holding her dress tightly as it swayed with the wind.

I heaved a long sigh, when,

"Oh.. what do we have here?"

"_Oh no... it's Break's voice."_

"Looks like you _were_ invited to join in on the party. And look at what else I see! Oz-kun and the rest are here as well!"

"I totally didn't expect to see you here," I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the trunk.

"But it's only natural I'd be invited as well."

There was an awkward moment of silence between us. Break stood next to me, sipping his tea, while I looked away in the opposite direction, standing against the tree with my hands behind my back.

Oz, Alice, Ada, and Gil had now been together with Elliot and Leo, yelling about something I couldn't quite decipher. Oscar's enthusiastic voice piped up, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.

"All right, everyone! Let's all gather around and take a photo!"

He began pushing everyone together; some were confused but they quickly settled into it. Others made their way to the center with a smile, setting aside their tea and sweets. It was then that Oz's expression shifted to a confused one.

"But Uncle... you can't use that camera. Today's not such a special day..."

Oscar sighed, rubbing the back of his head. Oz shifted around uncomfortably when suddenly, the tall man pulled him into an embrace.

"You are my precious son, Oz! Don't be silly! And you're not entirely right... today might be an ordinary day, but that doesn't mean there's no reason to celebrate."

"_Why do I.. feel like crying?" _I questioned myself all of a sudden.

"Are you, perhaps... happy?" Break smiled over at me. This time, his smile seemed less taunting and more genuine. I turned a light shade of red and smiled back, despite the hesitation. Oscar's words made me realize that there was no need to hold back.

"I suppose I am."

And then the flash went off. With huge smiles on our faces - _most _of us - our photo was taken. I didn't notice Echo's presence; it had been a while since I'd seen her. This was also my first time meeting Ada. So many faces that I appreciated were here, making me feel like this suffering and tension had all been worth it.

"Oh, one more thing!"

Oscar uncovered a delicious-looking strawberry cake - big enough to feed us all - from a large platter standing on the edge of the nearby table.

"Wow, that looks delicious!" Ada spoke. "Why are we having cake?"

"Because today is also Alva-chan's birthday," Oz's uncle said simply.

"Ehhh? It is?!" Elliot and Oz said in unison, looking back at me. I flinched, hoping no one would remember. Alice threw her hands into the air.

"That means more food!"

"Oh dear, why didn't you tell us anything?" Sharon asked, bringing her arm to her face and modeling her usual calm but elegant expression.

"I just... forgot," I white-lied.

"Oh, so it's really your birthday today, woman," Elliot looked at me. "Well... Alva. Suppose that's a better thing to call you. So.. happy birthday."

"Elliot... thanks."

"S-Stop that! I'm not trying to be friendly with you or anything!"

"Sheesh, I was just saying thanks! You're such an antisocial brat!"

And we continued our bickering for a few seconds as everyone around us either laughed or spoke to each other while the cake slices were being passed around.

Truthfully, I didn't think I could eat another bite. I had enough sweets during the tea party, especially since Ada kept suggesting I try more. But.. I truly did appreciate them doing all of this.

The party went on for the remainder of the day. Hours passed in a blur; before I knew it, dusk was at our doorstep. Break had wandered off with Sharon, Oz and Alice were still diving into the food, Gilbert had been, as usual, closely following Oz around.. but Elliot and Leo seemed to look different than I was used to.

"Are you okay, Elliot?" I said, walking up to him. "Party's almost over. Are you scared to go back?"

His eyebrow twitched as I spoke those last words.

"Kind of. I have a feeling I'll get a beating when I go back."

"It's not just a 'feeling', Elliot.. it's going to happen," Leo added with a sweatdrop. "But we probably should go, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, you should. It's really gotten late. We'll clean everything up from here."

Elliot didn't seem to like what I was saying.

"You.. seem unusually nice today."

"It's my birthday and everyone threw me a big party. Why would I be mad?"

He just looked at me for a few seconds, dumbfounded, before sighing and picking himself up. His back faced me as he walked in the opposite direction towards the gate where a carriage likely awaited him. Leo quickly followed suit, smiling lightly at me before going on his way.

"Oh, leaving already?" Oz called out.

"Yeah. 'Bout time I head out since I'll get in trouble for staying here too long."

I saw Elliot raise his hand as if waving goodbye and I did the same, even if he wouldn't see it.

The party soon came to a close and night had crept out to greet us. Much to my surprise, I volunteered to help clean up what was left despite being pushed to leave such work for the maids. Soon after I found myself alone in the outdoor garden, looking up at the starry sky. The location of this mansion made stargazing so worthwhile.. it put me at ease.

"This was.. the best birthday I've ever had," I spoke out loud.

"Best birthday indeed! You no longer have that one as the first number in your age anymore!" Break spoke behind me, making me jump in fright.

"..can you stop that?!"

"I'm surprised you can't sense me coming by now."

I glared daggers at him in anger. "No one can, you appear out of freaking thin air."

"I suppose."

"Tch."

"You really should get to bed, miss Alva. I'm not sure if it's safe for a lady like yourself to stay out this late." He put a hand on the top of my head as he spoke, looking down at me. I was only two or so inches shorter than Break but suddenly felt extremely tiny in comparison. "Oh? Are you blushing now? What's that about~?" he teased.

"It's just awkward..." I muttered, moving further away. "Any plans for tomorrow?"

"Hmm... we'll see. I take each day as it comes~"

This made my eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "Well that's a good conversation starter. But.." I took a deep breath. "I want to try to learn karate. Or kendo, or judo.. something. Just so I'm not here defenseless."

Another long pause engrossed us. I avoided eye contact with the man but felt that he had thought I was an idiot from mentioning such a thing. Women and fighting? Please!

"If you're looking for some sword-fighting practice then I might just be able to provide that for you," he said with a big smirk.

"But aren't you blind...?"

"That won't stop me from putting on a show."

Now I was genuinely curious. How would Break fare when using a sword now that he had lost his eyesight? In fact.. would he still be able to defend himself as well if enemies were to confront him?

"Ehhhh, I'm curious too."

We both turned around at the sound of a familiar blonde's voice.

"Oz!"

"Heeey!" he spoke happily as he waved. "Hope I'm not interrupting, I just wanted some fresh air." He grabbed his stomach dramatically and leaned forward as if he were planning on throwing up right here. "Ate too much cake...!"

"T-That's quite disgusting, Oz-kun..." Break raised a hand.

"Geez, I'm just kidding! You aren't any fun at all! And what are you even doing with Alva-chan this late, Break?"

"Does it matter? I have every right to do what I want," he sang.

"But why?"

"You'll know when you're older!"

I wasn't even interested in watching them bicker so I headed for the stairs, huffing out a, "I'm just going to leave you guys to it. I'm tired."

"Now look what you did, Oz-kun. The fair lady is leaving. Though I suppose your lack of manners were the reason for that. Right, Emily~?"

"H-Hey, Break...!"

Their voices continued to echo through my head as I made my way inside and upstairs into my room, plopping face-first onto the bed.

"I suppose Break is too busy bothering Oz, though it's surprising he hasn't invaded my room before bed like he usually does. I feel so peaceful tonight..."


End file.
